Barrel of pork fillet / caramelised apple / bed of braised red cabbage / pommes boulangeres & calvados sauce

Image provided courtesy of buddy-dubaibase.blogspot.co.uk

*part of the sizzling staffordshire menu series*

Alright, I know where you're coming from. It sounds complex, but this dish is remarkably simple. Combining the sweet elements from the sweet red cabbage and the caralemised apple, and complemented in texture and tone with the calvados sauce, the fillet or pork will sit very well alongside also the pommes boulangeres - a classic french dish that is wonderfully comforting.

Originally designed as a winter dish, this dish can also be incorporated up to late spring legitimately and year round with the availability of ingredients that we have today.It is quite cheap to produce (about 5-6GBP per head using supermarket prices) which makes it a great treat for the weekend. You can cut cost further by using pork chop or loin steaks or even shoulder steaks, bear in mind however the cooking time may vary.

You will need (serves 2):

Two thirds of a pork fillet, trimmed and cut into two portions.
6 Slices of pancetta
6 sage leaves
1 whole red cabbage (medium sized), de-stalked and chopped finely into strands
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 glass red wine
tsp olive oil
1 large measure of calvados, or regular brandy will do if needs must.
1 small onion very finely chopped.
tbsp butter
2 portions pommes boulangeres (as a side)
1 apple, halved and decored
tbsp honey.
150ml cream
tsp dijon mustard

The doing bit:

Prepare the pork: Take each pork portion and wrap with a slice of pancetta, tucking a sage leaf underneath each slice. Continue until each piece is wrapped with 3 slices and sage leaves. When cooking, in a pan add a little oil to coat the pan, and heat until almost smoking. Sear each side of the pork until coloured gently then place in a hot over 200C in the same pan for about 8-10 minutes until cooked. Add the apple halves flesh side down while searing the pork and then turn upside down when entering the oven.

For the cabbage (prepare in advance), in a pan add a little of the olive oil to coat the pan, heat and then add the cabbage until it turns bright purple. add the balsamic vinegar and allow to cook for about a minute.Sprinkle in a double pinch of sea salt, then add the red wine and bring to a simmer. Stir the cabbage and cover the pan stirring occasionally. Cook for about 30-40 mins or until cabbage has reached desired texture. Drain and set to one side to reheat where necessary.

Heat up the boulangeres and add a little milk where neccesary to retain moisture. Don't worry too much as boulangeres is a dish that can survive a while in the oven.

For the sauce, in a saucepan add the butter and the finely chopped onion, and cook until it begins to soften. Add the brandy and flame or reduce until alcohol has gone, then add the mustard, heat up slightly then add the cream. Reduce until thickened and season accordingly.

Assembly, begin with the pommes, boulangeres centre plate. Add the red cabbage on top gently. Carve the pork into 3 or 4 slices and sit this as the crowning glory on top of the cabbage. Caramelised apple to the side and decorate with the sauce around, and garnish with the honey.

Devour accordingly.

Pork Wellington with Redcurrant & Cranberry Sauce

The wellington is a very British dish, as its namesake suggests. A favourite of Sir Winston Churchill amongst others, this dish goes beyond the quaintness of "hearty" and borders of luxurious.

This recipe in particular takes the focus away from beef, and utilises pork instead. I've taken the focus away from expensive ingredients here, and am quietly confident you can feed two people here for less than £10 (shopping around may however be required).

Service thoughts: it goes with pretty much anything, vegetable wise. You can use any of the classic potato dishes also, as they each give a different focus and ideal to the dish when presented. Whether its the glorious fondant potato, dauphinoise, pommes dauphine, croquettes or even champ potato, you're going to enjoy this dish. I'll leave the accompaniment to you.

From a seasonal perspective I suppose its perfectly suited to winter, with the extra filling nature of wellington, the sweetness of "winter" fruits such as redcurrants and cranberries, and the earthy flavours of the pate and mushrooms utilised.

To create this mammoth dish you will need (serves 2)

Puff pastry (when bought from a shop you generally get what you pay for, but if ur on a budget any will do)
Chicken liver pate (you can get this quite cheaply)
1 pork fillet (if you are on a budget you can get the side of a loin by haggling a bit with the butcher)
About 10 chestnut or similar earthy flavour mushrooms. If a bunch of enoki are available, go for them.
2 shallots or 1 small red onion
Chopped fresh rosemary, sage and thyme. Its alot cheaper if you have them growing.
4 pancakes (savoury) (roughly 7in in diameter).. These are I suppose optional but they help the dish greatly. Its up to you.
25g butter for glazing.
1 beaten egg for glaze.
Salt & Pepper for seasoning.

Preparation:

Cut the pork fillet in half and remove any membranes and bits clinging to it. Discard any bitsor put to one side for stock use.

Take your puff pastry and roll out on a cool surface until about 1/2 cm thick. Divide into two equal pieces (these will wrap the fillet etc).

Spread pate on the pastry leaving about 3/4 in breathing gap on all edges.

Finely chop the onion and mushrooms into about 1/2 cm dice. Saute in a pan until soft, then fold in a small amount of butter and the chopped herbs and turn the heat down. When the onion and mushrooms have absorbed the butter take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Layer 1 pancakes on the area covered by the pate, then add the mushroom and onion mix in the same manner as the pastry. Add the last pancake on top of this.

Season with salt and pepper, then sear the pork fillet in a very hot pan until colour shown on all sides. We dont want to cook it fully, just enough for the latent heat to start work, and give a bit of caramelised flavour to the meat.

Allow the meat to rest for a minute or so then wrap the pastry / pancake affair around the meat into what appears to be a sausage roll. Seal the wrapped end with the eggand makes sure you do the same for the ends. One thing we dont want is leakage.

Glaze the ready to oven wellington with butter and the remaining egg. Place on greaseproofed oven tray and put in preheated oven (about 180C) until golden brown .

Devour, mercilessly.

For the sauce:

Handful of fresh cranberries
Tbsp redcurrant jelly
Small glass of red wine or port
tsp balsamic vinegar (white preferred)
1/2 cup of chicken stock.

Preparation:

Add the redcurrant jelly to a pan and allow to melt into a syrup. Add the cranberries and turn the heat down to a simmer. Once the cranberries have begun to soften, add the vinegar. Allow to cook for about a minute then add the wine. Reduce the liquor by half then add the stock. Reduce by half again and the sauce is ready.
Don't worry about the straining, the fruit here is a real feature.