Le Petit Baker

Ingredients

500g of pork tenderloin
3 sprigs of thyme
1 white onion, evenly-sliced
1 cup of dried white wine
olive oil
salt and pepper

Method

1. Mix the salt, pepper and thyme and spread it evenly over a surface so that you can roll your pork over this and coat it evenly.

2. Put your sliced onions with some oil on a baking tray. Place the tray over a low flame and saute your sliced onions till they are slightly caramelised.

3. Place your pork on the baking tray (which is still on the flame) and be sure to lightly cook all sides of the whole piece of pork.

4. Pour in the white wine and simmer for about a minute.

5. Scrunch up a piece of grease-proof paper and wet it.  Then, use this to cover your pork on the baking tray. Basically, you are trying to allow the pork to cook in its own steam.

6. Bake this at 160 degrees celsius for 20 minutes.

7. Remove the baking tray from the oven, add in 1/2 cup of white wine. Then, place the tray back into the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.

8. Remove the tray again, dispose the grease-proof paper and grill the pork for 10 minutes to give it a beautiful golden glow. The internal temperature of your pork should be about 68 degrees celsius.

TIPS: Having a meat thermometer is really useful to ensure you do not over cook your meat. Always rest the meat for about 5 to 10 minutes before slicing it. Also, you can choose to use dried thyme instead of fresh because such herbs can cost quite a bit here in Singapore. Of course fresh herbs give a stringer aroma but I have tried both and I feel the dried does the job too, and it can be stored in the fridge for a long time.

What’s On My Mind…

I love meat and enjoying moist and juicy meat is especially important to me. A lot of times, I get really disappointed when I dine at restaurants and food stalls because they overcook their meat, which simply causes it to be dry and disgusting.

So I guess my only choice was to cook up my own to make sure I get really juicy meat and the trick to that is to use a meat thermometer. Make sure the internal temperature is at 68 degrees celsius when you remove it from the oven and I am very sure you will be enjoying some really moist and tender meat.

By the way, this recipe was adapted from one of Jamie Oliver’s recipes but I can’t remember which though.

Ingredients 

1 whole chicken
500g of carrots
10 sticks of celery
2 onions
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs of thyme
2  bay leaves
1 lemon
oil
salt and pepper

Method

1. In a bowl, mix the oil with the rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Once well mixed, spread this all over the chicken and set aside.

2. Cut up the carrots, onions and celery and lay it on a baking tray. Drizzle some oil, salt and pepper over the vegetables and mix them around. These vegetables will act as a barrier between the chicken and the tray.

3. Pierce some holes in the lemon with a fork or knife and stuff it into the chicken, along with the bay leaves.

4. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees celsius for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 70 degrees celsius.

TIPS: Remove the chicken from the tray and rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Do not discard the juices at the bottom of the tray. Place the tray over a low flame, add in some chicken or vegetable stock, simmer, and whisk in some plain flour using a hand whisk to get a thick and flavourful brown sauce which you can drizzle over your chicken or pour it over some mashed potatoes.

What’s On My Mind…

I think this recipe was adapted from one of Jamie Oliver’s recipes and it is my favourite recipe to use when I cook for guests. The grilled vegetables you get at the bottom of the tray gives you an extra dish, the chicken is very tender and juicy, and the juices the chicken leaves behind in the tray allows you to create an awesome brown sauce.