Roasted pork with caramelised onion, apple and cannelini bean mash

Roasted pork with a creamy bean puree can be a simple week night meal or something a bit more elegant. The sweetness of the pork and the tartness of the apple are beautifully offset buy silky, earthy beans making this dish the sort of food you could eat in your dressing gown and slippers or with  ‘good company’.

•    180g cannelini beans, soaked
•    1 lemon, juice and zest
•    1 clove garlic crushed
•    2 teaspoons brown sugar
•    1 tablespoon dijon mustard
•    400g pork fillet, white bits removed
•    1 tablespoon butter
•    1/2 red onion, finely sliced
•    1 green apple, cored and sliced into 1cm thick rings
•    1/4 cup apple juice
•    1/4 chicken/veg stock
•    2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1. Place beans and 2 cloves garlic in a saucepan of boiling water (DO NOT SALT) and cook for 1 hour or until tender.
2. Preheat oven to 200ºC
3. Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, half the sugar and dijon mustard in a bowl and mix.
4. Coat pork fillet. Spray baking tray and place pork in tray in oven for 15-20 minute.
5. Meanwhile heat a frying pan to a low heat and with cook the onions, covered, gently in the butter and remaining sugar. Remove the onions, reduce heat slightly and place slices of apple, apple juice and stock in the pan and simmer until apple is soft.
6. Remove pork from oven and place on a warm plate to rest for 5 minutes covered in a double thickness of foil. Poor any juices into frying pan and stir to combine.
7. Drain and mash the beans with a fork and stir in  the vinegar.
8. Divide amongst serving plates, top with onion, apple and pork and drizzle with sauce.

To make this dish a lazier affair, you can use canned beans. However, the texture isn’t nearly as nice.