Prunes and apples always team well with pork, so if you prefer, substitute apples for the prunes. For the pork, you can select various cuts, female pork neck, pork scotch, a boned, rolled pork shoulder, or even a pork leg. These cuts are delicious as they are fatty and succulent; the fat runs through the meat rather than around it as it does in loins of pork. The sauce made with the prunes, onions, garlic, red wine, chicken stock and cream is also nice with pork chops or any other pork dishes you enjoy eating.
Agen prunes are the feature of this classic French dish. They are the dried fruit of the Ente plum, a variety produced by monks at the abbey of Clairac, near Agen, in the 12th century by crossing the damson plum with a local French plum. The word ‘enter’ in French means to graft. The name for the dried fruit came from the town of Agen which is situated on the banks of the Garonne river and the Canal Latéral, a branch of the Canal du Midi. After the opening of the Canal du Midi, linking the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Agen became the main port for exporting the prunes and hence the name pruneaux d’Agen.
In 2002 the EU granted protected geographical status, PDO, to the Agen prune. The Ente plum is the only variety that can be used to produce prunes entitled to the ‘Agen’ designation.
Some time ago, I was invited, for a few years, to be the Guest Chef teaching at the residential cooking school, La Combe en Périgord in the beautiful Dordogne France. This dish was always on the cooking class menu, as the town of Agen was nearby and my aim was to focus on cooking with local, regional ingredients.
Serves 4
| 1 neck of female pork, about 1kg; I also use pork scotch which is fatty, and so juicy when cooked 20g butter 1 tbsp olive oil Sea salt Freshly ground pepper 2 onions peeled and cut into quarters| 8 cloves of garlic, skins left on |
3 prunes per person, stoned 150ml red wine 175ml chicken stock 60ml cream 45% fat, or more if needed |
Preheat the oven to 200ºC
Truss the neck or the pork scotch, with cotton cooking string to hold in shape during cooking. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside for 30minutes until the pork neck reaches room temperature.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a baking dish with an overproof lid. Seal the pork neck on all sides. Deglaze with red wine. Add chicken stock and prunes. Place the onions and garlic under the pork. Cover with a cartouche and a lid. Bake at 200°C 45 minutes a kilo, until internal temperature is between 71 – 74 ℃.
When cooked remove the pork and prunes and rest in a warm place. Squeeze the cooked garlic pulp from the garlic skins and add to the sauce.
Degrease the baking dish and then transfer the sauce and the onions with the garlic to a medium-sized pot, add the cream and reduce to a sauce consistency. Process the sauce with the stick blender, check seasonings and adjust as necessary.
When ready to serve, return the prunes to the sauce and reheat the sauce.
To serve: carve the pork into thick slices and serve 3 slices per person. Drizzle the sauce down the centre of each serve and place 3 prunes in the sauce on the side.
Serve with young green beans.
