Pork medallions with port sauce

• 600g pork fillet (tenderloin)
• 100g small button mushrooms
• 50ml port wine; a good Portuguese port works well
• 250ml pure or double cream; do not use light cream
• 250ml good-quality or homemade veal or chicken stock
• 100g plain flour, for coating the meat
• 50g good-quality unsalted butter, divided between the mushrooms and pork; use real butter, not margarine
• A splash of neutral oil, for frying the pork
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Clean and thinly slice the mushrooms.
2. Melt some of the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and a little salt. Cook until their released water has evaporated, then fry for another 1-2 minutes until lightly golden. Reserve in a clean bowl.
3. Cut the pork fillet across into medallions about 5cm thick. Season all over with salt and pepper, roll in the flour and tap off the excess.

Pork and sauce

1. Gently simmer the cream in a small saucepan until reduced by about a quarter. It should coat the back of a spoon and hold a line drawn through it. Take off the heat when ready. Warm the stock separately over low heat.
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining butter and a splash of oil in the frying pan over medium-high heat. When foaming, add the medallions on their cut faces. Fry for about 3 minutes on each face, then turn onto their edges and brown for about 1 minute on each side. Adjust the heat to keep the butter and flour from burning; smaller pieces will cook faster.
3. Transfer the pork to an ovenproof dish and put it in the oven while you make the sauce. Check the thickest pieces and remove them once their centres reach 63°C, then let them rest for at least 3 minutes before serving.
4. Pour off excess fat from the frying pan, leaving the browned cooking juices. Raise the heat slightly, add the port and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen them.
5. Stir in a little of the reduced cream, then add the rest. Simmer gently, stirring and scraping up the remaining browned juices.
6. Add the warm stock and simmer until the sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat a spoon. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
7. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Add the reserved mushrooms and warm gently so their flavour infuses the sauce.
8. Serve the rested pork medallions with the mushroom and port sauce spooned over them.