Ring my bell...

We rang a little silver bell when it was dinner time.

It was a sound that instantaneously prompted your saliva glands to swing into action. You know the story of Pavlov’s dogs?  Well...that dinner bell had us just about wagging our tails!

I still have the dinner bell, and ring it now and then when I get around to polishing the silver. I also still have Mama's castor sugar dispenser. It is a long hour glass shaped beautiful silver canister that you twist to open the little holes. She sometimes used to let me enjoy half a glass of wine on Sundays...and I always sweetened the wine with castor sugar from the same shiny treasure bottle.

I think the wine with sugar ruined my palate for any appreciation of dry wines. I adore crisp sweet white wine so chilled that its almost slush. Red wines... well I have an adoration for any red wine that contains chocolate. But the most delicious red wine I have ever tasted comes from a winery in The Cape - Fairview Wines. Do yourself a favour and order from the La Beryl selection.

The recipe I want to share with you today is Pork fillet in yoghurt. Oh so soft and tender juicy meat with a delicious creamy sauce. Mama left a little foot note for me under this recipe...she suggests cream instead of yoghurt – so if like me...cream is like mother’s milk – otherwise Bulgarian yoghurt will do!

Pork Fillet in Yoghurt

What you need:

• 2 ½ kilo pork fillets
• 125 grams mozzarella cheese cut into strips
• 4 table spoons flour
• 1 t-spoon salt
• ½ t-spoon paprika, black pepper
• 1 diced onion
• A little oil
• A knob of butter
• 250 mls yoghurt or cream
• 125 mls stock
• Freshly chopped parsley

How to make:

• Cut deep slits down the side of the pork and stuff strips of cheese into the gaps.
• Mix the flour and spices together and gently roll the fillets in the flour mixture to coat them.
• Add the oil and butter to a pan and fry off the onions till soft. Add the fillets and sear the meat on all sides until golden brown. Place the fillets in a casserole dish.
• Deglaze the pan with a little stock. Pour in the rest of the stock and all the cream / yoghurt, stir and pour over the fillets.
• Bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 180 degrees.
• Take out of the oven to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with ....well what would YOU serve it with?