Franckie’s Filet Mignon

I often make this dish, it has it all. Tasty, easy to make, it makes a great Sunday dinner, a midweek special treat or a feast after a grand day out. My mother used to make pork steaks in a big pot, slow cooked with onions, garlic and peas, slightly burnt at the bottom, it was delicious too. To save on a lot of dishes during and after cooking, I do mine in a papillote , which is really between two sheets of tin foil. It keeps all the flavours of the ingredients that you put together. One tip though, leave the greens out or they will turn brown. Apart from that, go for it!

First, I take two sheets of tin foil and place one of them on the kitchen top. I sprinkle some olive oil and then put the pork steak on top, a couple of sliced carrots and a red onion chopped. You can also put a couple of cloves of garlic if you wish! Season with salt and pepper; take the other sheet of foil and put it on top and start folding the four corners one after another ( two or three folds per side) in order to make a little pillow if you wish. Pre-heat the oven at 200c and when it’s hot, let it cook for 30 to 40 minutes…

For the sauce, my dear pepper sauce, I always do it the same way. First, mill a good bit of black pepper in a dry pan. A dry pan means no oil. Don’t go too far, as you need to be attentive.

Once you start to see a bit of smoke, pour in some balsamic vinegar in (you can also use white wine, the balsamic vinegar gives it a richer colour and taste, that’s all). There will be a bit of noise.

Stir on a low heat until it gets almost evaporated, and then pour a full glass of good beef stock, about 20cl. I ran out of my homemade one that I froze in an ice cubes tray, but I found a good one from the organic co-op. One cube in hot water will do…

Let it reduce by half, and then pour 25cl of fresh cream and let it reduce as well, gently until a bit thicker. Once the filet done, you will open the papillote and pour the juices in the sauce and you will give it an extra blast on the heat to reduce it again, mixing therefore all the flavours.

To add a bit of drama to the sauce, I chopped a few mixed herbs from the garden. In this case fennel and parsley but thyme, basil or even coriander work well too… Chop them finely enough and keep them for the last minute before serving where you will mix them with the sauce…

Ready to serve? Pour the juices in the sauce and leave the pork to rest for a few after closing the papillote. I serve this dish with good rice as it is lighter this time of year, in this case a really nice Basmati from an Irish company, but mash potatoes or roast roots work really well too! Don’t forget, asparagus are still available, 5+ minutes in boiling water from boiling point in salted water… And that’s it really… Get ready to impress your friends and family!

And the final result…

The last one…

Keep Well and Eat Happy

Slán Tamall

Franck