Pork filet mignon with apricot and prunes

by mimithorisson

Whenever I buy meat, I tend to get highly influenced by Michel’s (my butcher) opinion on what I should cook. I might be eyeing the attractive beef filets, but I can tell that Michel thinks I should be cooking something else by his body language as he positions himself away from my actual choice! Michel appreciates my passion for cooking and wants me to pick the best choice of the day. So it turns out that he thinks the pork ‘filet mignon’ are exquisite. And so they are. What better way to cook them than stuffed with prunes and apricots with a mustard wine cream sauce. This meal reminds me of my grandmother’s blue Wedgwood porcelain collection on her buffet table – elegant and old-fashioned.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

For the pork filet:
800 grs pork filet mignon (tenderloin) (divided in 2)
10 dried apricots
10 dried prunes
5 tbsp mustard
salt and pepper
kitchen twine (string to attach filet)
1 sprig rosemary (optional – I have rosemary bushes everywhere in the garden so I can’t resist)
3 tbsp olive oil
200 ml water

Sauce:
1 tbsp plain flour
200 ml white wine
70 ml chicken stock
2 tbsp mustard
4 tbsp crème fraîche

Pre-heat the oven to 200° degrees celsius/ 400°F.

Take out the meat one hour before roasting so it will be at room temperature. Cut a slit in the side of each fillet. Brush the inside/outside with mustard. Stuff filet with apricots, rosemary and prunes. Tie each fillet with kitchen twine to keep its shape. Drizzle the filets with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place in a roasting pan, add the water and place in oven for 30 minutes. Turn meat once after 15 minutes of cooking. If the pan is dry add more water. Take the meat out of the oven, set aside and cover with tin foil. Put the roasting pan on the stove (medium heat) with all its juices, add the flour, mix well. Add the stock, and wine and stir well. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes until it starts to slightly thicken. Add crème fraîche and mustard, stir and switch the heat off. Pour the sauce over the sliced filet mignon and serve with haricot verts (French green beans).