Party Filet
Number 2 on Watson’s list of dishes that remind Swiss kids of their childhood (behind the perennial favourite Riz Casimir) is the classic creamy meat dish, Party Filet.
It’s beyond simple to make—slice a pork tenderloin into medallions, wrap with bacon, pop in the oven and once it’s out, spoon over a creamy, ketchup, and cognac spiked sauce.
It is usually served with rice or noodles and a salad, though I like to make an elegant entree by serving it with Canadian wild rice (which you can buy at the Coop, pictured below).
The recipe for this dish was first published in the 1977 Betty Bossi cookbook Kochen für Gäste.
In the comments section of the online recipe, the company mentions that upon publication all the pork tenderloin in Switzerland was sold out.
The excellent Kitchwitch has a solid version too.
around 500 g pork tenderloin
around 200 g bacon, in slices
paprika, salt and pepper
For the sauce:
150 ml cream
2 tbsp ketchup
1 shot cognac
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F / gas mark 6.
Cut the pork tenderloin into about 10 rounds, then wrap each with a slice (or two) of bacon. Use can use a toothpick to hold it in place, if necessary.
Season both sides of the meat and place in a casserole dish.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or unitl the bacon is crispy and the meat is browned.
For the sauce:
Whip the cream until stiff, then mix in the ketchup, cognac and seasonings.
Once the meat is out of the oven, spoon over about half of the sauce, leaving the rest on the side for people to spoon out individually.
A note on the serving size:
This recipe serves about three adults. Betty Bossi uses 500 g pork tenderloin to serve 4 people, which seems to me not quite enough. Kitchwitch has 800 g for 4 people, which seems like a more comfortable amount, perhaps with some leftovers. I think it’s better tohave a bit too much, especially as this is a crowd-pleaser. The sauce, on the other hand, is so rich, that I found I could take the amount down a bit (though it is quite nice to spoon over your rice or noodles).
In the recipe above, I used bacon like this and pork tenderloin like this.
I like to serve the dish with wild rice—the Coop sells a version from Canada (though the packaging has recently changed).
I recently received some delicious ketchup from Connie’s Kitchen as a gift. They are a Swiss ketchup company whose products have no added sugar and they have a delicious Jalapeño version as well—a great ketchup to use in this dish.
Another childhood favourite?
Riz Casimir
