pork loin steaks wih grilled bacon

so, pork loin steaks, with a garnish of pork, from a book called pork and sons. you could say it's turning into a bit of an obsession but it's what you get from spending a week in turkey and eating too much lamb.

actually, we also ate too many aubergines. like at home, summer means you suddenly end up eating courgettes, aubergines and peppers every day. grilled, stuffed, baked, with or without meat, and usually with lots of garlic. i swore i wouldn't touch another aubergine for a while after we came back but they are in season and they're so perfectly fresh and shiny that i couldn't resist.

i thought i'd just grill the steaks with some herbs - they're thinner than pork chops so lend themselves to quick cooking. but, while i was having my morning coffee before work, i just thought i'd check that there isn't some great recipe i'm missing out on in pork and sons. i swear to god the book opened on this page, which was uncanny because the only thing i had in the fridge were the two aubergines.

PORK LOIN STEAKS WITH GRILLED BACON

for two

12 cloves of garlic

6tbs oils

2 aubergines, cut lengthways into batons

4 pork loin steaks

2 rashers of bacon (or more if you're greedy)

120ml of white wine

30g unsalted butter

salt and pepper

place the whole cloves of garlic in a pan and cover with about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil. cook on very low heat for about 40-45 minutes. the heat has to be low because the garlic (and the oil) will taste bitter if burnt. remove the garlic from the pan with a slotted spoon and then fry the aubergine batons in the garlic-flavoured oil until golden brown and tender. make sure the aubergine is cooked through - i know i repeat myself but there is nothing worse than biting into undercooked, spongy flesh.

heat the remaining oil in a separate pan. add the pork and bacon and cook on high heat for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally. you're looking to brown the pork evenly.

add the wine, bring to boil and cook until reduced. add half of the butter and cook for another 5 or so minutes until the pork is cooked through.

to serve, place two pork steaks and a rasher of bacon on each plate and divide the aubergines and the reserved whole garlic cloves among them. add the second half of the butter to the meat juices in the pan and whisk over low heat till glossy, then pour over the steaks.

we ate it with some courgettes with radish leaf pesto.