Pork loin fillets on a bed of sage and onion

My son-in-law’s green fingers are turning me the same colour. How does he manage to get sage to grow so prolifically, when mine flourish for 10 days, then glare at me, wither and die? Sage just doesn’t like me.

But that’s not reciprocal. I love sage, and it means I have it to hand at any time, so I decided I’d use it with lots of onion for roasting a pair of pork loin fillets in an oven dish.

Herbs generally go well with pork. I use thyme most often, but the earthy, piney taste is lovely with pork too. I also smeared the fillets with plenty of Dijon mustard as well as seasoning them simply with salt and black pepper.

I recommend starting them under the grill for 10 minutes to start giving them some colour, otherwise they might turn out bland in appearance, if not in flavour.

I roasted them in my large air fryer oven, which acts like a normal oven, but your big old oven will do fine. Only the temperature and time may need adjusting.

I’d serve them with something green – beans, broccoli or courgettes, blanched, drained and finished in a little hot butter or oil, and simply seasoned.

Tony’s pork fillets on a bed of sage and onion

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

2 pork loin fillets

2 large onions, cut into wedges

8 to 10 sage leaves, torn into bits

2 heaped Tbsp Dijon mustard

A little cooking oil

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Cooking oil spray

Method

Spray or grease the base and sides of an ovenproof dish.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, on the grill setting at first if it is an air fryer oven. If it’s a regular oven, preheat it, then set it to grill.

Season the fillets with salt and black pepper, and smear mustard all over them.

Peel the onions and cut them into slim wedges. Pick the sage leaves and break them into small pieces.

Add a little cooking oil to a bowl and add the onions and sage. Season with salt and two pinches of black pepper. Give the bowl a few shakes and tosses so that the seasoning and oil cover everything.

Tip this into the greased oven dish, place the prepared pork loin fillets on top of them, and put it in the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes under the grill, then cook at 180°C for another 40 to 50 minutes or until the meat releases clear juices when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part. DM

Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award.

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.