Noisettes de Porc aux Pruneaux de Tours

Ingredients

• 8 pork loin noisettes, cut 3 cm thick, boneless, tied into rounds
• 12–16 pruneaux de Tours, Perdrigon violet variety; soaked 2 hours in warm Vouvray until plump
• 150 ml dry Vouvray (sec or demi-sec), for deglazing
• 200 ml dry Vouvray (sec or demi-sec), warm, for soaking the prunes
• 200 ml crème fraîche, full-fat, at room temperature
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp redcurrant jelly, stirred into the finished sauce
• 1 bouquet garni
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Method

1. 1
   Place the pruneaux de Tours in a bowl. Pour over 200 ml of warm Vouvray and leave to soak for 2 hours. The prunes are ready when they are fully plump and yielding to gentle pressure; prunes that remain firm will not integrate with the sauce.
2. 2
   Season the noisettes on both sides with salt and freshly ground pepper. Melt the butter in a heavy sauté pan over high heat. When the foam subsides and the butter colours faintly, add the noisettes and sear for 2 minutes per side. The surface must be deep golden and crusted; a pale sear will not build the fond needed for the sauce. Remove the pork and set aside.
3. 3
   Pour 150 ml of dry Vouvray into the hot pan and scrape up all the caramelised deposits. Add the soaked prunes and their soaking wine, then the bouquet garni. Simmer for 5 minutes; the liquid should smell of wine and fruit with no raw-alcohol edge.
4. 4
   Return the noisettes to the pan, cover, and braise gently at 160 °C for 12–15 minutes. This is where the dish lives or dies: the pork must reach an internal temperature of 63 °C and no more — at that point the meat is just set, pale rose at the centre, and still moist; beyond it the loin tightens and the dish is lost.
5. 5
   Lift the pork and prunes onto a warmed serving dish and keep warm, loosely covered. Discard the bouquet garni. Raise the heat and reduce the braising liquid by half; the surface will show a steady, even boil and the liquid will take on a concentrated amber colour.
6. 6
   Lower the heat. Stir in the crème fraîche and reduce to a sauce consistency — the sauce should coat a spoon lightly and fall in a slow, unbroken ribbon; it must not paste. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and adjust seasoning. The finished sauce is glossy and ivory-gold.
7. 7
   Spoon the sauce and prunes over the noisettes and serve at once. The sauce should reach the table hot and fluid, not setting on the plate.