Porc Medallions with Coconut Rum Sauce
This Caribbean-inspired porc medallions recipe sees tender Welsh porc drizzled with a creamy nutmeg-infused coconut rum sauce, served with garlic sweet potato mash, fresh spinach and crunchy lotus root crisps.
Servings 4 people
Calories 900kcal
Cost $5
Equipment
- A mandoline (useful for slicing the lotus root, but not essential!)
Ingredients
For the porc medallions in coconut rum sauce
- 600 g porc medallions approx. 8 medallions, size-dependent
- 30 ml dark rum
- 50 ml coconut milk
- 50 ml double cream
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 50 g shallots peeled and finely diced
- 125 ml chicken stock
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg or ¾ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
For the sweet potato mash
- 1 kg sweet potato peeled and roughly chopped
- 50 ml coconut milk
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the spinach
- 200 g fresh spinach
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
For the lotus root crisps
- 150 g fresh lotus root optional - frozen or canned will do if you can’t find fresh lotus root
- ¼ tsp chilli powder optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
For the lotus root crisps
- Slice the lotus root width ways, as thinly as possible (a mandoline is ideal!) Pat it dry with some kitchen towel to absorb as much moisture as possible.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or wok. The amount of oil you’ll need to use will depend on the size of your pan but it should be deep enough to comfortably cover the lotus root slices. Once the oil is hot, add the lotus root to the pan and fry for 4-6 minutes, until crisp and golden. Remove from the pan and transfer onto some kitchen towel to allow any excess oil to drain off.
- Toss the lotus root crisps with salt, pepper and, if you like, a pinch of chilli powder.
For the sweet potato mash
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Boil the sweet potato for 15-20 minutes, until tender.
- Drain the sweet potato and mash it up before stirring in the coconut milk, followed by a pinch of salt and pepper. Continue to mash until thoroughly combined.
For the porc medallions in coconut rum sauce.
- Before you begin cooking the sweet potato, take the porc medallions out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature. Coat with olive oil, thyme and salt and pepper.
- Pan-fry the medallions over a medium heat for 3-4 mins per side, until golden brown and cooked throughout. Remove from the pan, transfer to a plate and allow to ret.
- Melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter in the same pan and sauté the finely diced shallots for 1-2 minutes, until softened.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Pour in the rum and flambé to burn off the alcohol. To do this, you’ll need to tilt the frying pan (which should ideally have a long handle) away from you and ignite the pan using a long-handled lighter. See the notes below for some tips on how to flambé safely.
- Pour in 125ml chicken stock, return the pan to the heat and allow to simmer and reduce for 5 minutes. Stir in 50ml double cream and 50ml coconut milk, along with any resting juices from the medallions. You might want to lower the heat before you pour in the double cream, to prevent any curdling.
- Add the grated nutmeg to your sauce and stir to combine. Season to taste, although as the porc was seasoned earlier on, you might not need to add any additional salt or pepper.
- Serve your porc medallions alongside your sweet potato mash and fresh spinach, drizzled with coconut rum sauce and garnished with lotus root crisps (optional, but very tasty!)
For the spinach
- Heat the coconut oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok, until melted.
- Add the fresh spinach to the pan and cook over a medium heat until just wilted, for around 2-3 minutes.
Notes
- It’s best to use whole nutmeg in this dish, as it makes for a more intense flavour. You can find this in most big UK supermarkets and international food stores but if you can’t get hold of any, ground nutmeg works perfectly fine too. Just use a little bit more than you would if you were using freshly grated nutmeg.
- To flambé safely, ensure you remove the pan from the heat beforehand. Tilt the pan away from you and ignite the rum using a long-handled lighter to avoid burning yourself. It’s a good idea to have a large metal pan lid to hand to smother any flames that might get out of control. Ideally, you should use a stainless steel or copper pan with a long handle for this, but I’ve used a non-stick frying pan here.
- If you can’t find porc medallions, simply buy porc tenderloin, trim it and slice it into medallions, aiming for around 1.5cm in width.
- Lotus root can be found in most Asian food stores. It’s often available fresh but if this isn’t the case, aim to get it frozen or, failing that, canned. Of course, you can leave the lotus root crisps out, but they’re extremely tasty and they look great too.
Nutrition
Calories: 900kcal