The perfect partner to pork tenderloin with brown sugar, lemon juice and cognac glaze...

Pork and apples were made for each other. Roast pork and apple sauce is the classical favourite and there's a juicy Kassler with cider and apples in the April issue, but I'll never forget a salad by Suzi Holtzhausen of Gaaitjie restaurant in Paternoster: Pieces of pork belly with the crispiest crackling I'd ever laid eyes on served on a base of thinly shaved fennel and crisp slices of Granny Smith apple. (Suzy does fine things with snoek, tomatoes and moskonfyt too.)

We included the instructions for Granny Smith mash in the current April issue and, as promised, here's how to make the pork tenderloin that works just beautifully alongside it.

Glazed Pork Tenderloin

What You Need
2 pork tenderloins

For The Marinade
Juice of one lemon
½ cup sticky brown sugar
Shot glass cognac or brandy

Method
Combine the marinade ingredients and mix well to dissolve the sugar. Add the pork and toss well, set aside to marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C. Add the pork and marinade to a roasting dish and roast on the middle rack for 15 minutes or until just cooked – rather under than over cook it to prevent it from drying out. Rest the fillet for 5 minutes, slice and serve with the sauce and Granny Smith mash.

Granny Smith Mash
Try Granny Smith mash as the perfect pairing to pork (rolling apple sauce and spuds into one). The Germans call this mix of tree fruit and root veg 'heaven and earth', and because of the juice in the apples there's no need to add butter or milk. Add 700g potatoes and 500g apples (both weighed once peeled and chopped) to a pot of cold water. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer until cooked. Cut the potato smaller to speed up cooking or add apples halfway through the cooking time. Drain, add back to the pot and cook briefly, stirring, over a high heat to cook off any residual liquid – it should start breaking up quite easily at this point. Mash until smooth and season with sea salt flakes, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg. Adding 2 tbsp Crème Fraiche finishes it off nicely but is of course optional.