Briony's Pork Fillet with Apple, Cider and Honey

Ingredients:

• 2 pork tenderloin fillets (approx 12 oz each)
• 6 rashers drycure streaky bacon
• 1 oz butter
• Pepper
• 3 bramley apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 3 tbsp white wine or cider vinegar
• Sugar to taste
• 6 fl oz vintage strong dry cider
• 1 and a half tbsp clear dark honey

Place apples and vinegar in a pan and add sugar to taste (not too sweet though - approximately 2 tbsp) and cook over a gentle heat for about fifteen minutes until the apples have softened and made a puree, but still retaining some texture. Put to one side to keep warm.

Next wrap each pork fillet in half of the bacon, first stretching it with the back of a knife. You can secure the bacon with cocktail sticks if you choose to but remember to remove them before serving the dish! Season with black pepper.

Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a medium to hot heat and quickly seal the pork all over. This will take about 5 minutes. Transfer to a roasting tin and place in the oven to cook for 20 minutes.

When the pork is cooked through, place it in a warm place to rest while you make the cider and honey sauce.

Place the roasting tin over a high heat on the hob and add all the cider to the pork juices, scraping to incorporate any crusty bits. Boil over a high heat to reduce the liquid and then add the honey and simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce. If it is not thick enough for your liking it can be thickend by the addition on a little cornflour slaked with a tablespoon of water.

To serve. place some of the apple compote on each plate. Slice the pork and arrange on top of the apple, drizzling the cider and honey sauce over the top of the meat and around the plate. Best served with lots of creamy mashed potato to soak up the juices.

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