The occasion to make this dish came up after a walk along Evripidou street. You know, this little street in the center of Athens, with the many little shops from which beautiful spice aromas emanate, guiding you along the way even with your eyes closed. When I go down to Evripidou street – not nearly as often as I would like to – I always end up buying more things than I really need. I get on a manic buying spree, getting not only the classic products, but also anything that catches my eye. That was the case with star anise, a beautiful fruit, brown and shiny with the well-known aroma of anise that in Greece is most commonly met in some breads and tsipouro.
“Put it in food” was the advice of the lady at the store cashier.
From a brief search on the “wise” internet, I learned that besides the fact that the Ancient Romans considered it an aphrodisiac and anti-aging “weapon”, star anise is a spice from the Far East that particularly loves white meats, especially pork.
After some trials, admittedly not so successful at the beginning, the Conclave of the house (Kostas – Kiki – Alexandra, oh yes her too) decided on the combination of star anise – orange – lemon – sweet wine. We disagree only on the side dish, as I prefer it with mashed potatoes (perfect, believe me) while Kostas likes rice; make it with both, and I’ll be expecting your impressions …
INGREDIENTS
(for 2 persons)
- 2 pieces of tenderloin cut into thick slices or in two vertical pieces
- 80g of sweet wine from Samos or Limnos
- 120g mixed freshly squeezed orange juice and lemon juice (you will need about 1 small orange and 1 – 1 ½ lemon)
- 2 – 3 pieces of star anise (available in the spice section of supermarkets)
- 5-6 tbsp of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Place a non-stick pan on medium to high heat and warm it up. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the pieces of meat and spread half the olive oil over them.
When the pan is warm enough, put some pieces of meat in to brown them, preferably not all together, because the pan temperature drops and instead of browning the pieces it’ll be more like you’re boiling them. Allow them to get a nice golden hue, make a crust that is, and transfer them to the pot where you will cook them.
When you brown up all the pieces of meat and add them to the pot, add the rest of the olive oil, what’s left off the sautéing process, and place the pot over heat.
When it starts to warm up well and boil up, douse with wine, lower the heat a bit, let the alcohol evaporate for 1 – 2 minutes and then pour the juice, the star anise and if you want a little more salt and pepper.
Lower the heat still and allow the food to boil for about 45-50 minutes. Just be careful when cooking the food, so that it does not absorb all the liquids and sticks.
This could happen because sugars from sweet wine and orange create a somewhat sticky sauce that could perhaps dry up, especially if the heat is a bit stronger.
However, this property of sugars is exactly what produces the delicious, honeyed sauce for our side dish.
