Pork & black pudding wellington

Ingredients

• 1 pork tenderloin
• 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves chopped
• 150g black pudding
• 150g minced pork
• 1 block of puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten

For the pork and mustard sauce

• 2kg pork bones
• 1 pig trotter, split
• 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig sage
• 2 litres chicken stock
• Dijon mustard
• 100g butter

Method

Start by making the sauce. Roast the bones, trotter and vegetables in the oven at 180C, turning them every 20 mins until lovely and golden, then tip into a stock pot and cover with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 2½ hours. Drain off all the stock into a new pan and reduce until almost syrupy. Whisk in mustard to taste, then the cold diced butter.

Trim the sinew from the pork tenderloin. Season and sear on all sides on a medium high heat. Take out of the pan and set aside to cool.

Now prepare the filling. Place the mince, black pudding and thyme into a bowl and use your hands to mix well. Pull out a piece of cling film and spread the mix across it. Place the tenderloin on top and use the cling film to help roll it across, enclosing the fillet in the meat mix. Tie into a sausage and then chill in the freezer for 20 mins to firm up.

Roll out the puff pastry to fit the tenderloin ‘sausage’. Unwrap the pork from the cling film and place it on top of the pastry. Wrap the pastry around the pork, using some of the beaten egg to seal it. Glaze the wellington with the remaining egg wash. Place in the fridge to chill for at least half an hour.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 200C, and bake for 25 mins until golden brown. Serve with the sauce and some fresh greens, such as savoy cabbage finished with some butter.

Image: John Holdship