Cherries are not meant for desserts only. I had a whole lot of cherries left over from Christmas and wanted to do something other than dessert. And so I did a pork fillet with cherry sauce, served with mash.

Fresh cherries aren’t available year-round, but they’re in season now. They probably won’t be available for much longer, but I’ve seen them in several shops over the last week, so you still have time to get your hands on some of these delicious little beauties.

The sauce is sweet and sticky and simply decadent. If you don’t eat pork, try this with duck instead. It will work just as well. Herewith my recipe for pork fillet with cherry sauce.

Pork Fillet with fresh Cherry sauce

Author: Natasha Marais

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Traditional

Servings 2

Ingredients

For the pork:

400 grams pork fillet
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

For the mash:

3 medium potatoes
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp milk
½ clove garlic
salt and pepper

For the sauce:

3 tbsp butter
30 fresh cherries pitted
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp red wine
3 sprigs thyme
1 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper

Instructions

For the pork:

Heat a pan over very high heat. Rub the pork fillet with olive oil and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Place the pork in the heated pan and brown for a couple of minutes a side. Once golden brown on the outside, place the pork in a preheated oven dish and into the oven at 190C for 15 minutes.

For the mash:

Peel and dice the potatoes, then boil until soft. Drain, add back to the pot, add the butter, milk and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, then mash until smooth.

For the sauce:

Using the pan the pork was seared in, reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter to the pan, then the cherries, balsamic, red wine, and thyme.
Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, then, using a fork, crush the cherries, leaving a couple of them whole. Add the brown sugar, season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs once sauce has cooked through.
Slice the pork, plate alongside the mash, top with the cherry sauce and garnish with fresh thyme and a fresh cherry or two.

Keyword cherry, fillet, mash, pork