Pork Loin Medallions with Bacon, Black Pudding and Garlic Potato Wedges

A mixed grill is generally a dish consisting of a variety of grilled meats, accompanied by vegetables, starches and/or sauces. The concept and inclusions vary hugely in relation to different countries around the world. While this dish would qualify as a mixed grill in terms of its ingredients list, the meats are instead shallow fried on the stove top. The three meat elements served are all pig sourced but are of very different types. The bacon is British back bacon, though American bacon could easily be substituted. The pork is from the tenderloin, ensuring it is served beautifully tender provided it is cooked properly, while the black/blood pudding is made from the blood of the animal, together with oatmeal and spices.

Ingredients (Serves 1)

• 1 medium sized baking potato
• Salt
• 1 medium Bramley (or other cooking suitable) apple
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Juice of half a lemon
• Vegetable oil
• Black pepper
• 1 large garlic clove
• 3 pork tenderloin medallions (approximately one and a half inches in diameter and half an inch thick)
• 3 slices of black/blood pudding (approximately three inches in diameter and three-quarters of an inch thick)
• 3 rashers of back bacon or 6 slices of belly bacon
• 2 teaspoons spicy tomato chutney (supermarket bought)
• Freshly snipped chives to garnish

Directions

Wash the potato thoroughly but don't peel it. Cut it in half along its length and cut each half in to three equal sized wedges. Put the wedges in to a pot or bowl of cold water and leave to steep for a minimum of ten minutes to get rid of some of the starch. Drain and put them in to a pot of fresh cold water, seasoning with a little salt. Put this pot on to a high heat until the water approaches boiling point. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for ten minutes.

Drain the wedges carefully at your sink through a colander and allow them up to ten minutes to steam off and partly cool. After this time, lay them in a single layer in a suitable dish and refrigerate for at least half an hour. This not only cools them quickly, the dry air in the fridge helps to dry out the wedges.

When the wedges are in the fridge, peel and core the apple and chop to around three-quarter inch chunks. Put these pieces in to a saucepan with the lemon juice, the teaspoon of sugar and a couple of tablespoons of cold water. Bring to a simmer and stir gently with a wooden spoon until the apple has broken down and a thick sauce is formed.

Turn off the heat under the pan, cover and set aside to cool.

Start your oven preheating to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6. Pour two tablespoons of vegetable oil in to a large bowl. Peel the garlic clove and grate it in to the bowl with a small hand grater. Season with salt and pepper and stir with a wooden spoon.

Put the cooled potato wedges in to the bowl with the oil and carefully turn them around with the wooden spoon until they are all evenly coated. Lay them in a single layer on a roasting tray and put them in to the oven for half an hour, turning them half way through this time with cooking tongs.

When the potato wedges have been turned, pour some oil in to a frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Season the pork medallions on both sides with salt and pepper and fry for five minutes on each side.

When the pork medallions have been turned, pour some oil in to a second pan and bring it also up to a medium heat. Peel any remaining plastic casing from the outer rims of the black pudding slices and add them to the pan to fry for three to four minutes each side.

When they are cooked, lift the pork medallions to a heated plate and cover with aluminum foil. Leave them to rest for a few minutes. The bacon should now be fried for a couple of minutes on each side in the vacated pan.

Take the potato wedges from the oven and lift them to a plate covered with kitchen paper to drain off for a couple of minutes. Turn them after the first minute to ensure the excess oil is removed from both sides.

Lift the bacon rashers or slices also to a plate covered with kitchen paper and carefully pat off the excess oil before arranging on a serving plate as three distinct arms leading out from the center at equal intervals.

Lift a black pudding slice on to the outer extremity of each bacon rasher.

Lift a rested pork medallion on to the center of each black pudding slice.

Arrange two potato wedges in each of the spaces between the black pudding slices. A teaspoon of the cooled apple sauce should be spooned on to each pork medallion while the tomato chutney should be spooned in to the vacant spot in the center of the plate. Scatter over the freshly snipped chives to garnish and serve immediately.