There was some profane yelling through our letterbox at some hideously early hour this morning. I watched from the top of the stairs as a bleary eyed Fanny got her stick ready to cause the shouting imbecile some immense harm as she opened the door in case it was a nutter intent on a rampage. It turns out that it was a nutter, an old friend of Fanny’s called Bebe. There was this hilarity and in walked this ghastly loud woman. I always thought it would be difficult to find anything louder or more insolent than Fanny but believe me Baroness Bebe Von Boom Boom takes the biscuit.

And what a hellish Saturday it was. Having been with us all day regaling us with fairly uninteresting stories about running pheasant shoots and hunting deer she then decided to stay for dinner which really delighted me I don’t think.

She’d arrived with some scratchcards which she had never played before and when nothing matched on the matches game she started muttering about legal action against the lottery. Well you would wouldn’t you. Undeterred by not winning millions, she decided to drag Fanny up to the local supermarche where a fillet of pork and some mushrooms were purchased. She had decided we were all going to eat pork stroganoff, which gave me a night off and Fanny time to have a much needed shower.

Boom Boom started chopping up the ingredients while Fanny downed a beer and offered me one of her cheesy balls. Then a heated debate took place between Fanny and Bebe about how to cut up the Cavalo Nero.

I was drawn in to the argument against my will as Fanny declared that she liked her foliage firmly trimmed, and whose method was better? Fanny used a knife while Boom Boom reverted to fingers. I don’t like to call her coarse, but regrettably I have to.

However I have to say her dinner was rather delicious so here is her recipe.  Sadly she stayed the night before heading off the next day. Hopefully we won’t see Bebe von Boom Boom again for a very long time….

Now for the recipe

Ingredients

pork fillet 500g
sliced (chestnut or button) mushrooms 250g
1 finely sliced large onion
290ml good chicken stock
290ml medium cider
Half tsp ground black pepper
200ml (full fat) creme fraiche
2tbspns  dijon mustard
2 crushed cloves of garlic
Handful of chopped parsley
Salt to season

Lemon wedges to serve

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Cut the pork into strips

Fry onions, garlic and mushrooms until soft

Remove from pan

Fry the pork until browned lightly on each side but still soft and pink in middle

Remove from pan  and set aside

Deglaze pan with cider

Add the stock and reduce by third

Strain through a sieve to remove any wanton black bits

Return the stock to the pan

Add dijon and pepper and stir, and boil and taste.

Then add creme fraiche but only to a simmer point (you don’t want to boil the creme fraiche)

Salt to season and taste

Add the pork, stir, add the mushrooms and onions, stir, and low simmer the mix for five minutes

Add 2/3 of the parsley and stir in

Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, and serve with steamed rice, or boiled potatoes, and some steamed green cabbage, or broccoli. We used cavalo nero.

Sprinkle over rest of parsley as you serve and serve with a lemon wedge on the side.