HOW TO COOK A PORK FILLET RECIPES

To make the marinade, measure all the ingredients into a dish and mix well.

Trim any sinew from the fillet and discard. Sit the fillet in the marinade, season with salt and black pepper and turn to coat until all the fillet is covered. Leave to marinate for a few hours in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7 and line a small roasting tin with non-stick baking paper.

Removed the fillet from the marinade (reserving the marinade to use later) and sit it in the roasting tin. Roast in the oven for 25–30 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

Remove the fillet from the roasting tin and set aside on a board to rest. Cover with foil and leave for 5 minutes before carving.

Place the reserved marinade in a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

Carve the pork into slices and arrange on a platter. Pour the hot marinade over the top and scatter with the spring onions, red chilli and coriander. Serve with rice or noodles.

Mary’s tips:

Can be marinated up to 8 hours ahead. if serving cold can be roasted up to 4 hours ahead.

Freezes well raw in the marinade.

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
2. Pick the mint leaves and put half into a food processor, popping the rest into a cup of cold water for later.
3. Drain the beans, roughly chop the pork fillet, and add both to the processor with 1 heaped teaspoon of mustard, the oats and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
4. Blitz into a coarse mince (don’t go too fine – keep it light and chunky in texture), then tip onto a board and roll into a long sausage. Chop into four equal pieces, divide each into five and, with wet hands, roll into twenty balls.
5. To start your gravy, put 1 tablespoon of oil into a large high-sided roasting tray on a medium-high heat and add four of the balls, breaking them up with a wooden spoon.
6. Peel and quarter the onions, break apart into petals and add to the tray, stirring regularly. Cut the apples into thin wedges, discarding the core, and stir them in, too.
7. Cook it all for 5 minutes, then stir in the Worcestershire sauce and the remaining heaped teaspoon of mustard, followed by the flour.
8. Stir for 2 minutes, then gradually stir in the stock, season and bring to the boil (it might seem like a lot of liquid, but it will reduce right down as it bakes).
9. Plop in the remaining balls, spacing them out evenly, then transfer to the oven for 25 minutes, or until golden, shaking the tray halfway through. Warm the buns alongside for the last 5 minutes.
10. Remove the tray from the oven and finely grate the Cheddar over the balls to melt. Drain and toss the remaining mint leaves with the watercress and/or rocket, and serve it all together, dunking the buns in the gravy as you tuck in.