Pork Fillet with Cherry Sauce

Ingredients:

Two 300g pork fillets
Olive Oil
2-3 pinches chopped rosemary
24 slices of thin flat pancetta or streaky bacon
150ml dry red wine
150ml cranberry juice
5 tbsp cherry jam
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp cornflour
Fresh cherries to garnish

Method:

Firstly, preheat the oven to 180C. Cut each pork fillet in half, brush with olive oil, roll in rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Place six pieces of pancetta slightly overlapping flat on a chopping board, put a piece of pork on top and enclose in the pancetta, repeating this step for each piece of pork.

To make the cherry sauce, put wine, cranberry juice, cherry jam and 150ml of water in a small saucepan, simmering over a medium heat whilst stirring for 5 minutes. Then add vinegar and simmer for a further minute. Separately mix the cornflour with a little water to form a paste, then add to the sauce and cook for about a minute or until thickened. Place aside.

Heat a large frying pan on high heat and add some oil. Cook the pork fillets, turning occasionally for 3-4 minutes until golden all over. Then place on a baking tray and place in the oven for 5 minutes or until pork is cooked through.

Remove pork from oven and leave to rest for 2-3 minutes, while gently reheating the cherry sauce. Slice the pork, and serve with sauce, cherries for garnish, mashed potato and a rocket salad.

Serves 4

(Recipe inspired by Valli Little’s 5 of the best)