This recipe for Greek Thyme, Oregano and Fenugreek Pork Fillet served with Tsatziki and a Tomato and Onion Salad, takes the essential flavours of Greek cooking and adds fenugreek, a herb that Leivatitaki learned to love through Turkish cuisine. Like the author of Aegean: Recipes from the Mountains to the Sea our reviewer Nicky loves the addition, and declares pork and fenugreek a match made in heaven.

Read more about the book, and what Nicky thought of all the recipes she made, in her full review of Aegean, here.

.
Publishers Kyle Books have given us permission to share three recipes with you. Take a look at the others, courgette and feta fritters recipe and Greek Lamb Cutlets with Lemon and Oregano

Thyme, Oregano and Fenugreek Pork Fillet with Tsatziki, Tomato and Onion Salad

Print Pin

5 from 2 votes

Greek Thyme, Oregano and Fenugreek Pork Fillet (with Tsatziki and Tomato & Onion Salad

I started using fenugreek after visiting Turkey a few years ago. I did not know what it was, how to include it in my cooking, what the plant looked like. I recognized the flavour in pastourma, but have never tasted it in anything else. I had it in Turkey with cured fish and I was blown away. Together with other spices it is used to make a paste known as ‘çemen’ in Turkish and ‘tsimeni’ in Greek, rubbed onto meat and fish as part of the cure. In recent years I have experimented a lot with fenugreek seeds and have included them in stews, marinades and, of course, curing pastes. In Crete, oregano, salt and pepper are mostly used for grilled meats. The addition of hot and aromatic spices is not very common. I added some fenugreek powder to this simple seasoning and I must say that I will never cook pork on the grill without it again. I prefer to cook the pork fillet on a charcoal grill because the flavour is better when you use fire, but you can pan-fry it with a touch of olive oil.

Servings 4 people

Author Marianna Leivatitaki

Ingredients

1 pork ﬁllet (about 500g/1lb 2oz)
A little extra virgin olive oil, if pan frying

For the spice mix

1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Turkish chilli ﬂakes
1 tsp ground fenugreek
1 tsp smoked hot paprika
Sea salt, to taste (be generous)

For the tsatziki

1 cucumber, grated on the coarse side of a box grater, and salted
200 g 7oz Greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed into a paste with a touch of salt
1 tsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the tomato and onion salad

2 ripe red tomatoes, halved and thinly sliced
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black

Instructions

Combine the ingredients for the spice mix and rub it over the pork fillet and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Make sure your pan is hot before you add the oil and the fillet. Brown it all over and then lower the heat to the minimum. Continue cooking for about 8–10 minutes until it feels quite firm to the touch. I like having this slightly pink, but not underdone. When the fillet is ready, remove from the heat and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Slice thinly.
Squeeze the salted cucumber to get rid of the excess water and place in a bowl together with all the other tsatziki ingredients. Stir, check the seasoning and put to one side.
Quickly make the tomato salad by mixing everything in a bowl. Check the seasoning.
Serve by putting slices of pork, accompanied by some tsatziki and tomato salad, on a flat plate.

Thyme, Oregano and Fenugreek Pork Fillet with Tsatziki, Tomato and Onion Salad (Nicky Bramley)

If you decide to buy this book after reading our content, please consider clicking through our affiliate link, located within the post and in the footnote at the end.

Kavey Eats received a review copy of Aegean: Recipes from the Mountains to the Sea by Marianna Leivatitaki from publishers Kyle Books (Octopus Group). Book cover provided by Kyle Books (photography © Elena Heatherwick).

Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!
5 Comments to "Greek Thyme, Oregano and Fenugreek Pork Fillet (with Tsatziki and Tomato & Onion Salad)"

LauraSeptember 10th, 2020

I enjoyed cooking this, although I found some of the ingredients harder to source (I must start shopping at more diverse places because it was so worth the effort!) the recipe was easy to follow and the end result delicious, will definitely make again!

NickyBSeptember 10th, 2020
I really love that someone else appreciated it!

Jackie GatelySeptember 14th, 2020

I see one of my all-time favorite sauces in this article: Tsaziki! As a child, my best friend’s family was from Greece and I spent many of my formative days at her table. I like to think this was a big influence in my appreciation (and affinity for) world flavors that are different from my own Italian-American palette! Now, I must try Fenugreek. I love the idea of layering these spices as a rub on the pork, and especially that it’s a twist on a traditional blend. I’ve added Fenugreek to my shopping list and you can be sure this will be the first recipe I try, It looks very easy to make and delicious. Thank you!

Sage ScottSeptember 17th, 2020
Although we LOVE Greek food, my family doesn’t eat pork. But I’m excited to give this tsatziki sauce recipe a try, especially right now that the cucumbers are in season!

EmmaSeptember 18th, 2020
Oh, my, this recipe is giving me flashbacks to our adventures through Greece – and I have to make this! There’s a cucumber in my vege drawer just begging to be transformed….

Greek Thyme, Oregano and Fenugreek Pork Fillet (with Tsatziki and Tomato & Onion Salad)