Pork fillet with dijon and cognac sauce

Last week before I went to Budapest we had Ian and Anna over for dinner. It is always lovely to see them, so I don’t want to spend all evening in the kitchen but actually spend time with them, and that worked well with the following menu:

Jerusalem artichoke soup with girolles, parsley, garlic and shallots

Pork fillet with dijon and cognac sauce, steamed broccoli and crispy parmesan potatoes

Nigella’ glitzy chocolate puddings

I love the Jerusalem artichoke soup, this time I fried the artichokes quickly in some oil in the saucepan before boiling them, to induce their flavour. Fry the girolles in butter and add garlic and chopped parsley. Pour the soup into bowls and put the girolles and chopped shallots in the middle. Sprinkle over some olive oil in a circle.

For the maincourse I made pork fillet with a lovely sauce and crispy parmesan potatoes. I forgot to take a picture of the lovely potatoes, but promise to make them again soon and post it here. 🙂

Pork fillet with dijon and cognac sauce, serves 4

2 pork fillets (about 400 g each)

a knob of butter and olive oil for frying

700 ml single cream

3 tbsp soy sauce

2-3 tbsp tomato paste

3-4 tsp dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, pressed

3 tbsp chilli sauce

a splash (or two) of cognac

concentrated beef stock

salt

white pepper

a bunch of chives, chopped

Trim the tendons and fat off the fillets and fry them whole in butter and oil on high heat until they are nice and brown all around. Place them in an oven dish and cook for about 20 minutes in 200 C. Make sure they are cooked all the way through and take them out of the oven to rest for a few minutes. Slice the fillets into 1cm thick slices and place them in a clean ovenproof dish. Next mix all the ingredients for the sauce apart from the chives, bring to a boil and let it thicken for a few minutes. Season after taste and add the chives. Pour the sauce over the fillets and put the dish in the oven to heat up for a few minutes. Serve with the amazing potatoes (recipe to come) and steamed broccoli. Nice and simple!