things that go well with pork

i had a piece of tenderloin in the fridge, with not long left to wait for me to come up with an interesting idea. i don't usually buy lean meat because i find it boring, but in the aftermath of two weeks in Italy i must pretend that i am doing something to compensate. as if..

this is the reason why i also have in stock an unusual quantity and variety of dried fruit. apple rings, plums, apricots, figs.

a quick look at my list of things that go well with pork:
apples --check
prunes --check
fennel seeds --check
butter
honey
mustard
fennel
milk
cream
sage

and the recipe for the pork tenderloin with dried fruit and fennel seeds comes up by itself.

i take an handful of dried fruit - apricots included - previously soaked for extra plumpness and whiz them in the food processor with quite a lot of fennel seeds (i love fennel seeds!).
the mixture looks good but sickeningly healthy, so i add some unsalted butter straight form the fridge and whiz a little bit more.
that's better.

the meat is unsubtly impaled on the handle of a wooden spoon and the cavity is filled with the mixture.
what is left of the mixture is patted all around the piece of meat. any leftovers go straight in the pan, diluted with a ladle of water to make the base for the cooking.

i leave it to cook until there is a nice slightly burnt crust on each side.

by the time it's ready i'm not hungry anymore. i leave it to rest overnight.

the following day i slice it: it looks greats and tastes better.

these things go really well with pork.