Pork with Charcutière Sauce

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g trimmed pork collar (4 slices of about 150 g each)
• 800 g waxy potatoes
• 2 brown onions (about 150 g each)
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil (1 for the pork, 1 for the onions)
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 chicken stock cube + 300 ml hot water
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 8 gherkins (about 60 g)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Steamer or saucepan with a steamer basket
• Large frying pan with lid
• Wooden spoon
• Peeler
• Cutting board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Peel the potatoes and halve the larger ones so the pieces are all the same size. Steam them for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife blade slides in without resistance, then keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the onions, cut the gherkins into thin rounds and dissolve the stock cube in 300 ml hot water. Trim any remaining fat from the edges of the pork slices, pat them dry and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the frying pan over a medium-high heat. Sear the pork slices for 3 minutes on each side until nicely browned, then set aside on a plate: they will finish cooking in the sauce.
4. In the same pan over a medium heat, add the rest of the oil and the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook them gently for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned bits from the pork, until soft and golden.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir for 1 minute to cook it. Add the tomato purée and vinegar, mix, then gradually pour in the stock, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
6. Return the pork and its juices to the sauce. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes over a low heat, turning the slices halfway through, until the meat is cooked through and the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
7. Off the heat, stir in the mustard and gherkins. Don't let the sauce boil again after adding the mustard, or it will turn bitter and grainy. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
8. Serve the pork slices straight away, well coated in sauce, with the steamed potatoes lightly crushed with a fork so they soak up the sauce.