Pedro Ximenez is a sweet wine from the region of Andalucia in Spain. You can buy it in most UK supermarkets. It is meant to be made with grapes that were introduced in Spain when Spain was ruled by the Arabs (many people forget that Spain was under Arab ruling for more years than under Christians)
You can use Marsala or Porto or indeed any other sweet wine, though Pedro Ximenez goes particularly well with pork as it has a depth that other sweet wines do not have.
You need:
- two pork loins (cut into thick medallions - I normally flatten them a bit with the back of a big knife)
- 2 onions
- 300 ml water
- 150 ml Pedro Ximenez
- a teaspoon of corn flour
- olive oil
- salt
Heat a pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. Salt the medallions of pork and fry them on both sides until they are golden (2-3- minutes on each side). Take them off the pan and reserve them until later.
In the same pan add two more tablespoons of oil and fry the onions over very low heat for 15-18 minutes until they are very soft. Then add the water and Pedro Ximenez and let it all boil until you get bubbles. Take a quarter of a glass of the sauce, add the teaspoon of corn flour, mix well and return the mixture back to the pan. Add the pork back to the pan and let it all bubble for 8-10 minutes until the sauce becomes thick (I cannot stand thick sauces, so I often miss the corn flour step) It is great served with squared fried potatoes and swiss chard but also with mashed potatoes or even rice.
