Melanie says: I only grow a relatively small number of peaches in the greenhouse, so, short of offering my family a bite each, I try to come up with recipes that make the fruit go a little further.’
Peach-stuffed pork tenderloin with peach relish
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 peach, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Leaves of 4 sprigs of lemon thyme
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2cm square piece of ginger,
grated
15g dried cranberries
Seasoning
2 x 500g pork tenderloin fillets
9 slices Parma ham
2 peaches, diced
1 red onion, diced
1tspn grated ginger
15ml white-wine vinegar
1tspn sugar
2tbspn chopped chives
Seasoning
Method
Start by making the stuffing. Cook the onion in a frying pan until translucent. Add the diced peach, garlic, herbs, grated ginger, dried cranberries, lemon juice and zest and seasoning and continue to fry for about five minutes so all the flavours are well mixed.
Cover the first pork tenderloin with a piece of clingfilm and put it onto a board. Using a rolling pin, hammer the meat until it’s about a centimetre thick. Repeat with the second tenderloin.
Arrange the pieces of Parma ham on a large piece of clingfilm so that they all overlap and create a single rectangle. Place a piece of pork tenderloin in the centre. Add the stuffing all down the length of the meat and then place the other tenderloin on top of it. Using the clingfilm to help, pull the
Parma ham around the meat so that it’s entirely enclosed. Pull the clingfilm tightly around it, using a second layer if needed. Twist the ends of the clingfilm tightly. Put the pork tenderloins into your refrigerator and leave for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.
Preheat your oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas mark 4. Remove the pork from the fridge and put it in the oven on a baking tray (I lined mine with foil to save washing-up) for one hour or until cooked through.
Make the relish while the pork is cooking. Gently fry the onion and peach in a splash of olive oil until softened. Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients.
Remove the peach-stuffed pork tenderloin from the oven and rest it on a board for about 10 minutes. Serve in thick slices with the peach relish and a selection of salads. It also tastes delicious cold the next day.
Peach and Parma ham focaccia
In a large bowl, mix together 350g white bread flour, 1 sachet dried yeast and 2tspn sea salt. Make a well in the centre and add 30ml olive oil and 250ml lukewarm water. Mix with your hands, bring-
ing it together to a dough, then turn it onto an olive-oiled surface and knead for 5 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with cling-film and leave to prove for about an hour. Knead it again and put it on a baking sheet to prove again. Brush with olive oil and scatter with sea salt and rosemary before baking in a hot oven for 20 minutes. Halve the focaccia horizontally and fill with Parma ham, slices of peach, basil leaves and shredded mozzarella. Press the top down and return to a moderate oven for 10 minutes.
Caramelised peaches with toasted brioche and vanilla ice cream
Cut 2 peaches into eighths. Heat a knob of butter and 2tbspn light-brown sugar in a frying pan and, once melted, add the peaches and toss in the sugary butter for a few minutes. Toast some slices of brioche. To serve, arrange the toasted brioche onto plates, add the caramelised peaches, pouring the caramel from the pan over them, and top with vanilla ice cream.
* This article was first published in Country Life magazine on July 23 2014
