Slow Cooked Pork Loin with Flageolet Beans and Parsley sauce

I made this dish yesterday for our local gang of friends’ first alfresco lunch of 2014, at a beautiful house just outside the mountain village of Aups.  It was just so good to feel the sunshine back on our noses, a glass of Rosé in our hands and happy kids roaming the property. Life has definitely taken a turn for the better after a rainy and cold wintery season.

What’s handy about this dish is that it keeps well, the beans tend to keep their gorgeous bright green colour and even re-heating the pork didn’t seem to do it any harm at all.  We enjoyed it with fresh crusty bread and some truffle shavings that our (new best) friend Valerie had brought along.

To feed 4 you will need:

– 1 Pork Loin – Filet Mignon (about 500g)
– 300g of flageolet beans (I am lucky to get them frozen here in France.  If you buy them dried you have to soak them the night before or tinned also do the job)
– a bunch of parsley
– a tub of single cream

Preheat oven at 140 degrees

First prepare the beans by boiling them in plenty of salted water for about 40 minutes if you bought them dried (and have soaked them overnight) or if they were frozen.  They should be soft inside, but not be mushy, so keep an eye.  If they are from a tin you can just warm them through shortly before the pork is finished.

While the beans are cooking put the filet in a well-oiled and very hot saucepan and fry off both sides.  Season well with salt and pepper.  Then put it into a Pyrex dish with a lid.  De-glaze the pan with some water to get all the nice pork flavours and add to the Pyrex dish.  Close the lid (or use aluminium paper) and put it into the oven for 45 minutes or so.  The meat should steam softly in the jus and not dry out.  While it’s cooking cut lots of Parsley and set aside.

Once the meat is cooked through (check by cutting through the middle, it should be a pale rose colour, but you shouldn’t have any brighter pink wobbly bits) remove it from the dish and cut it into thin slices.  Pour the jus into a saucepan, add some cream and salt and pepper to season.  Warm it through gently and add the parsley. You want to end up with quite a lot of sauce, because everyone loves it and there’s never enough.

Arrange the sliced Pork around a nice deep dish, place the warm beans in the middle and pour the hot sauce over.  Serve immediately or re-heat gently later.

Voila, enjoy and pour yourself a nice glass of Rosé to go with it- you deserve it.

Jeany x