Pork stuffed with apricots

Bigger meat-preparing-ventures are The Gentleman's domain. Barbecue, man and a stupendous slab of meat are just one of those things that belong together.

And he does a mighty fine job at it, too. Duck is cooked to perfection every time. Once to a point it actually reduced yours truly to tears. Though work-related exhaustion might have had something to do with it.

Today, however, I took over. And made pork. Probably for the first time ever. The sauce was so good I actually licked the pan.

For 2

Pork:

appr. 500 gr pork fillet

12 dried apricots, halved

1 heaped tbsp butter

1 tbsp thyme

the paste squeezed out of 1 large clove of garlic (or 2 small ones)
(instructions here)
salt, pepper to taste

Apricot sauce:

6 dried apricots

2 dl stock

the paste squeezed from 2 large cloves of garlic
dash of white wine
1 tbsp butter
0.5 tbsp rosemary (or thyme)
2 heaped tbsp cream cheese/ Turkish yoghurt/ appr. 1 dl cream
salt, pepper to taste

Cut the pork fillet open to a sheet- I do it by taking the knife to about 1,5 cm deep and then following the form. Mix together butter, roasted garlic paste and thyme and spread the paste on the pork. Season with salt and pepper and roll tightly. Season the outside too and sear it on the pan in a butter-oil-blend to give the exterior nice, golden colour. Toothpick and butchers string are without a doubt a lot handier tools than say, bare fingers...

Then wrap the pork in foil, bake in 200 for 20 minutes. After removing from the oven, let rest in the foil for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile make the sauce. Cook the apricots in the stock for a little while until they soften and plump up a bit. Keep an eye on the pan, as the sugar from the apricots will give the liquid a syrupy consistency which can easily burn. Blizz with a blender together with the roasted garlic paste. Add butter into the pan you just used and then the white wine to get all the flavours out. Then add the apricot paste and mix until smooth. Add the herb and bring the heat up. Then add the cream cheese/ cream/ yoghurt and mix well. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Season as needed and serve with the pork.

Slice the pork and pour any juices left in the foil into the sauce.