Pamplona

Ingredients

Meat

• 4large boneless chicken breasts, or 4 thin pork loin steaks, or beef milanesa cuts

Filling

• 150 gcooked ham, sliced
• 200 gmozzarella or muzzarella, sliced
• 2red peppers, roasted and peeled
• 8rashers streaky bacon
• 1 tbspchopped parsley
• 2 clovesgarlic, chopped

Seasoning

• salt
• black pepper
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tsppaprika

To wrap

• caul fat, or bacon rashers, or kitchen string

To serve

• chimichurri
• roast potatoes
• a green salad

Directions

1. Beat the meat out thinly and evenly with a mallet or a rolling pin. Season the inside face with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and parsley. Season the inside generously, because the outside seasoning largely burns off on the grill.
2. Roast the peppers over a flame until blackened, steam them covered for 10 minutes, then peel and tear them into strips. The covered rest is what makes the skins slip off, and peeling without it takes half the flesh with it.
3. Lay the ham, cheese and pepper strips across the meat, leaving a clear 2 cm border all round. Leave that border. Use a firm melting cheese rather than a wet fresh one, which floods the roll. Roll it firmly with no air pockets, because trapped air expands and splits the roll open.
4. Wrap the roll in caul fat if you can get it, which is what Uruguayan butchers use. Otherwise wrap the roll in overlapping bacon rashers and tie it with string every 3 cm.
5. Tie it snugly but not so tight that it squeezes the filling out at the ends. Dust the outside with paprika and a little salt. Now cook it over medium charcoal, well away from the fiercest heat, turning every few minutes.
6. Rest it 10 minutes before cutting, which lets the juices settle and stops the filling running out. Snip the strings off and cut it into thick rounds so the spiral shows.
7. Serve with chimichurri and roast potatoes. It is standard parrilla food in Uruguay, sold ready-rolled by butchers and cooked at any asado.

Technique

• Butchers in Uruguay sell them made up and ready for the grill, which is how most people buy them.
• Chicken is the most common, and pork and beef are both usual.
• It can be roasted in a hot oven instead, which is easier to control.

Substitutions

• Bacon rashers in place of caul fat.
• Any firm melting cheese.

Variations

• Made with pork loin or beef.
• With spinach and cheese, for a lighter filling.
• Roasted in the oven rather than grilled.

History

Chicken, pork or beef rolled around ham, cheese and pepper and grilled on the parrilla, named after the Spanish city.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pamplona?

Pamplona is a main from Uruguay: grilled chicken or pork roll stuffed with cheese, peppers, bacon. Chicken, pork or beef rolled around ham, cheese and pepper and grilled on the parrilla, named after the Spanish city.

How long does Pamplona take to make?

Pamplona takes 40 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Pamplona?

Yes, within limits. Bacon rashers in place of caul fat. Any firm melting cheese.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pamplona?

Lay the ham, cheese and pepper strips across the meat, leaving a clear 2 cm border all round. Leave that border. Use a firm melting cheese rather than a wet fresh one, which floods the roll. Roll it firmly with no air pockets, because trapped air expands and splits the roll open.