Pork Ardennes

Wednesday, 2nd May 2012

This is a great favourite of mine which I have been cooking since the seventies. The sauce is particulary good with the pork and so it makes a great dish for entertaining.

Ingredients (for 2)

- 1 Pork steak

- 90g (3 oz.) streaky rashers

- 1/2 Glass (125ml.) white wine

- 6 Juniper berries crushed

- 30g (1 oz) butter

- 110g (4 oz.) Mushrooms

- 90ml. (3 fl.oz.) Cream

Method

First cut the rashers into fine dice and marinade these in the white wine with the crushed juniper for at least 3 hours before you cook the pork. Don't try and shortcut this as it is the flavour of the marinated bacon that defines this dish.

Trim the pork and cut into medallions. I usually give each of these a thump with my fist to flatten and tenderize them. Melt the butter in the pan and brown these medallions on both sides. Put these to one side.

Drain the bacon from the marinade but keep it. In the remaining fat in the pan fry the bacon pieces until they are crisp. Slice the mushrooms and fry these with the bacon. (If the bacon hasn't produced much fat you may need to add a little extra butter.)

Once the mushrooms are soft add the wine marinade to the pan and the pork pieces. Simmer together until the pork is cooked through then add the cream, season with a little pepper and boil briskly until the sauce thickens. Serve with plain boiled potatoes and crisp green cabbage.