Lunch
Pork Medallions with French Herby Pan Sauce
Lunch
Lean pork medallions with a light French herby sauce — inspired by a bistro in France, adapted for Le's kitchen. No wine, no fat, all flavour.
Ingredients
- 400 g lombinhos de porco, sliced into medallions (about 3 cups)
- 400 g potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Maggi chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 200ml warm water (just under 1 cup)
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp butter (size of your thumb tip)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence
- 1 bay leaf (or pinch of louro moído)
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the cubed potatoes and carrot rounds. Season with salt. Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes, turning occasionally, until nearly tender. Remove to a plate.
- In the same pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Season the pork medallions with salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence. Sear for 3-4 minutes per side until golden. Remove to the plate with the vegetables.
- This is where the sauce happens. Reduce heat to medium. Add the butter and diced onion to the same pan. Cook for 2 minutes, scraping up all the golden bits from the pork — this is flavour.
- Add the garlic. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the chicken stock and white wine vinegar. Add the bay leaf. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sauce reduces by half and becomes light and glossy.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice. Stir once.
- Return the pork, potatoes, and carrots to the pan. Spoon the sauce over everything. Cook for 2 minutes to warm through.
- Finish with fresh parsley and serve straight from the pan.
Notes
Inspired by a French bistro dish in Emmen — Le loved the sauce but not the fatty pork shoulder. This version uses lean lombinhos and olive oil instead. White wine vinegar + chicken stock recreates the wine flavour without alcohol. The secret is scraping those golden bits from the pan — the French call this "fond" and it's where all the flavour lives. Light, herby, clean — French technique, Portuguese soul. Chef Simão recipe 🇫🇷🍳
By Chef Claude