I cook a wide variety of dishes, both sweet and savoury. Some are based on great meals I have enjoyed in restaurants and cafes, others are from recipes kindly shared by family and friends. Newly discovered recipes in magazines and cookbooks are always met with anticipation and “old faithfuls” from well thumbed publications are reassuring and familiar. 

There is one particular ingredient, a meat in fact, that I have never been too keen to eat or cook no matter how beautifully the finished dish was styled and photographed…until quite recently. PORK. My aversion was based on the food memory I have of the pork I ate growing up. It tasted “porky” – strong, unpleasant and chewy. I now understand it was the “boar taint”, found in male pigs that had soured my taste buds towards this very versatile meat. 

Two years ago, I spotted a juicy, healthy pink looking piece of meat in the window of Chilcott’s Butchery in Concord. When I enquired about it, I was told it was a loin of pork, trussed up and ready for roasting. Imagine my surprise! Could pork really look that good? Well not only did it look appealing, it tasted incredible! I tentatively followed Jamie Oliver’s recipe for pot roasted loin of pork with fennel and garlic from his book, Happy Days with the Naked Chef, and I was impressed with the result. Flavoursome, moist, fragrant and best of all – everyone in the family loved it. 

The following recipe is one I have made several times, both on the barbecue and also in the oven. The concept of pot roasting the pork is based on that particular Jamie Oliver recipe I mentioned. If cooking this dish on the barbecue, its important to sear the meat first on the flat plate. Then wrap each fillet in double foil with the fruit and herbs snuggled all around and the white wine drizzled over. Cook over a medium heat for about 30 minutes or until done. Unwrap each fillet on a large platter and spoon the juices over the meat. 

Pot Roasted Pork Fillets with Fruits and Fennel – to serve 8 people (halve the quantities if cooking for a small group)

60 g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 x good quality pork fillets each weighing 500 – 600 g
1 tablespoon dried fennel seeds
6 dried bay leaves
2 x large apples (whatever happens to be in the fruit bowl)
3/4 of a cup pitted prunes
200 ml sweet white wine
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy based baking dish like a Le Creuset, melt the butter and olive oil and add the dried herbs to release their flavour and aroma. Increase the heat to high and add each of the pork fillets, turning them so they sear and become golden all over. Season the fillets as they are turned over. 

Reduce the heat back to medium and add the apples and prunes, tucking them in around each fillet. 

Add the white wine and allow it to bubble and cook it for about two minutes to evaporate the alcohol. 

Cover with aluminium foil or a lid if there is one with the baking dish and place in a preheated fan forced oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil after this time and leave in for another 10 minutes to allow the top of the meat to brown and become glossy. 

While you are setting the table, rest the meat, then slice with a sharp knife on the diagonal. Spoon the sticky pan juices, caramelised prunes and apples over the meat on each person’s plate. Serve with greens, veggies or a salad and definitely roasted potatoes. I added sliced Spanish onion and the juice of a lemon to my potatoes while roasting which gave them a fresh flavour with a crunchy crust.