Pork Fillet with Seville Oranges

Marmalade is a joyous thing but I think it's worth making much wider use of Seville oranges.  They're sharp enough to be used in dressings in the place of lemons, for instance, and that dressing will work very well with roasted veg.

They also work in sauces. Duck is a traditional choice but, for a change, try cooking pork fillet in an orange sauce. Apart from the oranges, this sauce is made up of ingredients that I tend to have to have knocking around in the kitchen, but it's possible to make substitutions with your chosen favourites. The important thing is to get the sweet and sour balance just the way you like it. If you want to use other types of orange, then they'll probably be (significantly) sweeter, so reduce the amount of maple syrup you use and, maybe, add a little lemon juice.

This will serve 2.

1 pork fillet (tenderloin)

Juice of 5 or 6 Seville oranges - about 150ml will be ideal

3 or 4 tsp maple syrup (add more or less to taste)

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp mango chutney

Mix the orange juice, maple syrup, soy, sweet chilli and mango chutney together and check that the balance of flavours is to your liking. Add the sauce to a frying pan that will be big enough to hold the fillet without too much room to spare. Bring the sauce to the boil, reduce the heat slightly until the sauce is at a lively simmer and add the pork fillet.

Cook the pork in the sauce for 20 - 25 minutes, basting frequently and turning at least once every 4 or 5 minutes. If the sauce is in danger of drying up completely or burning, then add a little water. 

At the end of this time, the sauce should have reduced to be more of a sticky glaze but don't let it burn or become too solid. Check that the pork is cooked through, remove the pan from the heat (but keep the remaining sauce warm) and take the pork out of the pan to rest for a few minutes. Carve the pork into generous slices and toss the slices in the reduced sauce before serving.

The sauce will have a serious amount of flavour and so it's probably best served with quite plain accompaniments such as green veg, mash, rice or noodles.