“Cook once, eat twice is my favourite kind of cooking, and all it takes is a little planning around loadshedding schedules. The best part is that all these dishes freeze beautifully and are even better the next day (with a few of our ingenious alterations), so the idea is to batch cook these even if you're cooking for one and be prepared at every level.” – Hannah Lewry
PORK FILLET WITH BAKED ONIONS AND CREAMY PARMESAN SAUCE
“The flavour of this sauce becomes wonderfully concentrated, so a little goes a long way. It works well for a dinner party and tastes even better the next day.”
Serves 4
EASY
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour 40 minutes
pork fillet 2 x 460 g
olive oil 3 T
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
butter 50 g
rosemary 2 sprigs
streaky bacon 250 g
brown onions 6-8, unpeeled
chicken stock 1 cup
cream 1 cup
crème fraîche or sour cream 3 T
Parmesan 50 g, grated
lemon 1, zested
cannellini beans 1 x 400 g can, drained
Woolworths mashed potato or crusty bread, for serving (optional)
Pat dry the pork using kitchen paper. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat a shallow 30 cm ovenproof casserole over a medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Season the pork with salt and place in the hot pan. Sear all over until golden. Add the butter and rosemary and baste the pork with the butter for a few minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add a little more oil to the same pan and fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the pan from Slice the root off each onion so that they can be placed upright in the pan. Place the onions, with their skins on, in the pan with the bacon. Add the stock and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and, using a sharp knife, make criss-cross incisions into each onion. Reduce the temperature to 160°C, then return the pan to the oven to bake for a further 40 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the cream, créme fraiche, Parmesan and lemon zest and season with black pepper. Remove the pan from the oven and pour the sauce around the onions and add the beans. Bake for a further 20 minutes. Slice the pork fillet and serve with 4 onions, mash or bread. Reserve the remaining onions and some of the sauce.
