Pork Fillet in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This is a lovely comforting family meal that can be whipped up in no time at all and is versatile enough to be served with mashed potato, rice or simply with a ton of vegetables or salad leaves.

Pork fillet is fairly economical these days too and is leaner than other parts of the pig, but still has a great flavour.

I add just a light drizzle of truffle oil at the end of the cooking process here for a touch of decadence and whilst it takes less then 30 minutes to prepare and cook, this family meal really does feel quite special.

I used double cream here simply as I had it in stock, but you could use a lighter creme fraiche or sour cream here to lighten the calorie / fat intake.

I used chestnut mushrooms for the same reason - if you are able to get hold of some wild mushrooms, this will intensify the flavour here.

The below serves a family of four.

Pork Fillet in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Here’s how:

• Tiny drizzle of oil
• Pork fillet (about 300g is sufficient)
• 250 chestnut mushrooms
• 1 white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Splash of white wine
• 200ml double cream
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Handful fresh parsley
• Drizzle of truffle oil

Firstly place on a low heat a drizzle of olive or vegetable oil in a non-stick pan.

Peel and dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to the pan to gently saute.

Now roughly slice the mushrooms and set aside for the moment.

Roughly chop the parsley and set this aside for the end.

Now cut the pork into little medallions of meat, about 1-2cm thick and then season generously on both sides with salt and black pepper.

Once seasoned, add them to the pan and allow to brown on one side, which should only take a few minutes and them turn to cook the other side. You’ll see once the meat is cooked as the colour of the little medallions shifts.

Once the meat is cooked through add in the mushrooms with the dried thyme for a couple of minutes, stirring them around to ensure they get a little sauteeing, but don’t over cook.

Add the splash of white wine and as soon as that has cooked away, add the cream and season again.

Allow this to gently cook down for five- seven minutes, remove from the heat, drizzle over the truffle oil and stir through the fresh parsley and serve with your choice of accompaniments. Enjoy!

Here's a couple of other pork recipes:

Mediterranean Pork Belly Strips

Middle Eastern Roast Pork with Roasted Roots and Yoghurt Dip

Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce

Skinny Mexican Pork Cheeks

Pork Souvlaki with Baked Feta

Roast Pork Shoulder with Crispy Crackling

Pork Cheeks Braised with Cider and Apples

5:2 Diet Pork Fillet with Bean Stew and Rice‏

When partaking on the 5:2 diet as I have been on and off for the past few months in an attempt to ditch the baby weight, I have found that the hardest part of fasting days is the boredom.

Sticking to 500 calories two days per week isn't particularly difficult especially with useful tools such as MyFitnessPal to calorie count for you. But coming up with different ways can be the hard part.

This meal was one I devised for a weeknight when I'd had a busy day and needed to feel substantially full on something other than salad or soup. It comes in exactly 400 calories and if you take it without the rice, just 314 calories according to packet information and using MyFitnessPal.

The pork fillet is cooked under a grill to save on some calories and I'd saved some calories by skipping breakfast so was able to add two tablespoons of ready cooked rice to the equation which significantly helped.

The meal below makes enough for 2 portions, I served a larger portion of the entire meal with rice to my partner for his dinner but you could just as easily freeze the stew and save it for another fast day. 

4 pork fillets weighing approx 200g in total (100g per person)
1 red onion
1 green pepper
1 tin butter beans
1 clove garlic
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Ready Made Rice - I used Tesco Pilau Rice - once cooked 62g is sufficient for a Fast Day
Cooking spray (

Firstly place a saucepan on a low heat.

Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic, spray the pan and add the onion and garlic to gently soften.

In the meantime, chop the pepper into bite sized pieces and also add to the pan.

Add the tomatoes and drained butter beans and stir through. Now allow to cook for 20-30 minutes.

Pork fillet of this size, takes around 15-20 minutes to cook under a grill. I would generally place some foil on the grill tray to catch any fat, but as the fillet is a very lean part of the pig, this should be minimal. Turn the meat over after about 8 minutes of cooking, it should be getting nicely charred. Once cooked, allow to rest, wrapped in foil for 4-5 minutes.

If you are having rice, this is the time to cook according to packet instructions.

Finally plate up half of the stew first then add the pork fillet and rice and enjoy a filling meal on a fast day.

Apricot Crusted Pork Fillet

Pork fillet when cooked well is one of the most deliciously tender pieces of meat and is one my favourites. Here is a really simple method that I love that combines a little heat from Dijon mustard with the sweetness of apricots.

I usually serve this dish with creamy layered potatoes and seasonal vegetables or as an alternative to a roasting joint with all of the traditional trimmings associated with a Sunday lunchtime meal.

The delicious crusty exterior of this dish is great once baked and gives a great, crunchy but sweet texture to a delicate piece of meat.

A good wine to serve with this is a Moscato and I have paired this with the Barefoot Moscato on several occasions as this has notes of peach and apricot which really complement the pork dish and give me an excuse to indulge in some sweet wine, which I love, but only goes with certain food.

Ingredients:

I pork fillet, trimmed and washed

2-3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

2-3 Slices Bread – I prefer to use ciabatta or a flavoured bread such as tomato bread or olive bread

200g Dried Apricots

Tbsp Fresh Sage

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

How To:

1.       In a food processer whizz up your bread so it becomes breadcrumbs and add in the sage leaves so these breadcrumbs are nice and herby. If you’re not a fan of sage try this with rosemary or thyme which will also work well with the pork fillet

2.       Chop the apricots into small chunks and throw in with the breadcrumbs and mix with a spoon adding Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3.       Firstly wash your meat and then pat dry with kitchen towel to ensure all excess moisture is absorbed

4.       Rub a little salt and pepper all over the fillet to flavour the meat

5.       With a pastry brush, cover the fillet with the Dijon mustard and then roll in the breadcrumbs until nicely coated all over

6.       Place the fillet onto an oven-proof dish or tray and place into a pre-heated over for 20-25 minutes, depending on how you like your meat cooked – the crumb should be nice and golden brown in appearance

7.       Remove from the oven, wrap the dish in tinfoil and allow to rest for up to ten minutes before carving and serving with your chosen accompaniments