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Pork Fillet with Citrus Beurre Monté and Pistachio Dukkah

Serves Serves 4
  • Steps
  • Ingredients

Steps

  • Preheat oven to 170°C fan-forced.
  • Preheat water bath to 48°C and clip a bull nosed clip inside to attach the cryovac bag to.

For the Braised Fennel

  • Season fennel with salt and pepper. Heat medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add fennel pieces, cut-side-down, and cook 4 mins on each cut side, or until heavily caramelised on each side.
  • Add wine, rosemary and bay leaf and cook until wine has mostly evaporated. Add enough stock to just cover fennel and bring to a simmer. Cover pan and transfer to oven. Cook 25 mins, or until fennel is tender throughout. Set aside at room temperature to allow fennel to cool in cooking liquid.

For the Citrus Beurre Monté

  • Prepare a cryovac bag.
  • In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring orange juice (A), lemon juice, shallots and peppercorns to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and reduce mixture to a syrup (about 3 tbs), about 10 mins.
  • Over low heat, whisk in butter, bit by bit, into citrus reduction to emulsify. After all butter has been added and sauce is smooth, season with salt. Gradually add orange juice (B) by the teaspoon to thin the sauce. Strain sauce through fine-mesh sieve and transfer to cryovac bag. Transfer to commercial vacuum sealer and seal bag.
  • Clip bag with sauce to inside of water bath while pork cooks.

For the Carrot Purée

  • In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrot, shallot and thyme and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 mins, or until carrots have softened but not taken on any colour. Add orange juice to cover and bring mixture to a simmer. Cover and simmer 15 mins, or until carrots are completely tender, adding a little pure cream towards the end of cooking.
  • Drain carrots, reserving cooking liquid, and transfer carrots to high-speed blender. Blend, adding reserved cooking liquid if needed, for at least 1 min, or until completely smooth. Season with salt. Keep carrot purée warm.

For the Pork

  • Cut each pork fillet in half crossways. Brush pork pieces with oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a medium cast iron frypan over medium-high heat. Cook pork, turning as needed, for 10 to 12 mins, or until browned all over and centre of pork registers 60°C when measured with instant-read thermometer. Remove pork from pan and transfer to cryovac bag with citrus beurre monté.
  • Allow pork to rest in sauce in the water bath for 10 mins.

For the Pistachio Dukkah

  • Spread pistachios on small baking tray and toast in oven until fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 5 mins.
  • Meanwhile, heat small frypan over medium heat. Add coriander seeds and stir 3 mins, or until aromatic and toasted. Transfer to mortar to cool slightly. Add sesame seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds to frypan and stir over medium heat 3 mins, or until toasted and aromatic. Transfer to small bowl to cool.
  • Using pestle, coarsely crush coriander seeds in mortar to break up. Add pistachios, sesame seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds and pulse until coarsely ground; mixture should be the texture of coarse bread crumbs; do not blend to a paste.
  • Transfer to small bowl and season dukkah with salt and pepper.

For the Burnt Citrus

  • Place citrus segments on baking tray. Using kitchen torch, char cut sides of citrus segments.

To Assemble

  • Remove pork from sauce and place on a carving board. Using a sharp knife, carve rested pork into approximately 15mm thick slices.
  • Pour remaining sauce in cryovac bag into a small saucepan, bring back to heat and stir in finger lime and chives. Season with salt and pepper and pour into small sauce jug.
  • In the centre of each serving plate, place 2 pieces of braised fennel crossed over each other slightly, add 3 teaspooned dollops of carrot purée in a triangular formation and then place 3 burnt citrus slices in a triangular formation alternating between the purée. Top each with 3 pieces of cooked pork on their sides,  sitting between the burnt citrus and carrot pureé dollops. Using a spoon of dukkah, push little piles of dukkah off the spoon and onto the plate, and scattered over the other elements. Garnish with 3 fresh fennel fronds and serve with the sauce on the side.

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