Pork Tenderloin in Cider with Mushrooms & Raisins · Karlos Arguiñano

Trim the silvery membrane off the tenderloins with a thin knife, then cut each one across into medallions about 2 cm thick.

💡 That silverskin never softens no matter how long you cook it — it just shrinks and curls the medallion up in the pan. Two minutes with a knife saves the texture of the whole dish.

Season the medallions on both sides with salt and black pepper.

Heat a film of olive oil in a wide, shallow pan over high heat until it shimmers, then sear the medallions for about a minute a side until they are properly browned. Lift them onto a plate.

💡 You are colouring, not cooking. The pork will still be raw in the middle and that is correct — it finishes in the sauce at the very end. Sear it through now and it will be dry later.

Turn the heat down to low. Slice the 3 garlic cloves thinly and cut the 3 onions into julienne — long thin strips — and put them into the same unwashed pan.

💡 Do not wash the pan. Those browned bits stuck to the base are pure pork flavour, and the onions' water will lift them off as they cook.

Cook the onion and garlic gently for 25–30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the pile has collapsed to about a third of its volume and turned soft, glossy and pale gold.

💡 Half an hour sounds absurd for onions, and it is the single most important step in the recipe. This is where the sweetness that balances the sour cider comes from — rush it and the sauce tastes sharp and thin.

While that happens, wipe the button mushrooms clean and slice them; cut the shiitake into thick strips, discarding the tough stems.

💡 Wipe mushrooms, do not soak them. They are a sponge — washed mushrooms release that water in the pan and stew instead of browning.

Add the button and shiitake mushrooms to the softened onion and cook for 10–12 minutes, until the liquid they release has evaporated and they start to catch a little colour.

💡 Wait for the pan to look dry again before moving on. Add liquid while the mushroom water is still there and the sauce ends up watery and grey.

Stir in the 50 g of raisins and let them warm through for a minute.

💡 They will plump up in the cider and stock over the next ten minutes, and each one becomes a small sweet burst against the pork. Do not leave them out — they are what makes this dish rather than just pork with mushrooms.

Turn the heat up high and pour in the 200 ml of cider. Let it bubble hard for a couple of minutes until the raw alcohol smell has gone and the liquid has reduced by roughly half.

💡 High heat here, deliberately. If you add the cider on a low flame the alcohol lingers and the sauce keeps a raw, cidery edge all the way to the plate.

Pour in the 200 ml of beef stock, bring it back to a simmer and cook for 6–8 minutes so the flavours settle together.

Add the 70 g of shimeji and the 50 ml of cream, and stir once. The sauce should turn a shade paler and look glossy.

💡 Only 50 ml — this is a hint of richness, not a cream sauce. Once the cream is in, keep the pan below a boil or it can separate.

Return the seared medallions to the pan along with any juices that collected on the plate. Cover and cook on low for 4–5 minutes.

💡 Four or five minutes and no more. Pork tenderloin has almost no fat to protect it, so the window between juicy and dry is genuinely narrow.

Meanwhile peel the 2 potatoes and cut them into chips or thick batons. Heat plenty of olive oil in a deep pan and fry them until crisp outside and tender inside.

💡 Fry them twice if you want them properly crisp: once at a gentle heat to cook the inside, then a second, hotter go to colour them.

Drain the potatoes on kitchen paper, salt them straight away while they are still hot and toss with chopped parsley.

💡 Salt hot chips immediately. Once the surface cools the salt just falls off into the bowl.

Share the medallions between four plates, spoon plenty of the mushroom and raisin sauce over them, pile the chips alongside and finish with parsley.