Pork in a Dijon mustard sauce

A few months ago on some product management training, I had the opportunity to geek out about cheese with a lovely French lady called Mirissa. She was also kind enough to share her mustard pork loin recipe with me, and it was bloody tasty.Unable to leave well alone, I've tweaked it a bit, so what's here is an onioned-up version of a quick and easy French classic.The mustard cuts through the cream without being too vinegary or overpowering, and you can get this together in a little over half an hour.

Ingredients:

• Pork loin, a couple of roughly 2cm slices or around 150g each
• Shallots, 8-10 or about 150g
• Crème fraiche, 3tbsp
• Dijon mustard, 1tbsb (or 2tsp for a milder flavour)
• White wine, 100ml (something dry or even a fino sherry)
• Milk, around 50ml
• Oregano, a pinch or two
• Pepper for seasoning, oil for frying, all that jazz

Quantities here are for 2 people, and it scales pretty linearly, although you may want to dial back the shallots (and up the cooking time a bit) if you're going up to 4.You can also add finely-sliced mushrooms. I'd use chestnut, and add them at the same time as or instead of the shallots.

Instructions:

Top, tail, and peel the shallots, then slice them into rings, crosswise through the middle. Cut them into halves, or thirds if they're large.Season the pork with a little oregano and ground black pepper on each side. Put some light olive oil into a sturdy frying pan, and bring it up to a medium heat. Add the pork, and fry it for about 3 minutes on each side, getting a bit of colour on it.Reduce the head a little, and add the shallots and a pinch of oregano. Cook the shallots for another 6-8 minutes, stirring periodically, and turning the pork so it colours nicely without burning. Remove the pork, and put it to one side, then cook the shallots for another 3-4 minutes so they soften.Add the wine, and stir round, getting the tasty sticky bits off the bottom of the pan, letting most of the booze evaporate off. Keeping everything on a low heart, add the mustard and crème fraiche, and stir thoroughly so it all amalgamates and begins to thicken just slightly. Leave it here if you're happy with the consistency, or thin slightly with some of the milk.To serve, either add the pork and any juices back to the pan, or plate it up and pour the sauce over.

Serve with plenty of green veg - broccoli or beans, perhaps, and maybe some simple potatoes. Warm, crushed new potatoes would be lovely. I did them with chili and garlic.If you want this to be a little lighter, or just present differently, use flattened out little discs of tenderloin. Sear them quickly, reserve, and add back at the end. That version works nicely with mushrooms - I'd say mostly chestnut, sliced thin, possibly with a few little slices of Morel to liven it up a bit. Although at that point, we're getting creative with the fungi, and it's tempting to dial back the mustard, and it's this whole other thing.