We drive over in the rain to visit Henrik’s cousin Yens and as we arrive we are treated to a demonstration of his new lawn mower, which is a little robot that continually trims the grass. After a short while, the rain stops and we sit out in the garden, watching the robot lawnmower at work, whilst we eat the feast that Yens has prepared for us

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The meal consists of home made gravlax, (Gravad Lax meaning buried salmon) steamed mussels and smoked fish with egg. Beer and wine obviously. We spend a great day with Yens and Lisbet.

On a previous trip to Denmark with my sister Dot, Yens cooked us the most delicious pork dish and we have used his recipe ever since (see below). It was one of the funniest trips we’ve ever been on. We stayed in Copenhagen with Henrik’s brother and slept in a basement bedroom. It was very dark down there and as we opened the door, we were greeted with a full size male puppet with a huge beard. My sister and I nearly had a fit and never forgot that cellar. We did a lot of shopping in Copenhagen, including a 4ft candle holder, two metal chickens for egg storage, various bottles of drink and a huge suitcase, all carried on as hand luggage. Another time, we drove up to Sweden to visit the Orrefors glass factory and purchased some beautiful glass. We also took these on as hand luggage, weighing 40kilos! Those were the days.

We leave Yens and drive to Copenhagen, taking the ferry. We will be staying at Simon’s flat (Gitte and Henrik’s son) and they will stay at their daughter Marie’s flat. Both flats are lovely. Simon has completely transformed his place to a bright modern space filled with 1960s furniture. Marie’s flat is in the most lovely block, looking down on a huge recreational area. Town planning in Denmark is incredibly well thought out.

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RECIPE FOR YENS’ PORK DISH

1 pork fillet

125g Danish bacon (Danish obviously – but any good smoked bacon will do!)

2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

Juice of a lemon

2 tbsp Olive oil

500gm cream

1kg mashed potatoes, made with butter and milk

Marinade the fillet in the olive oil, lemon juice and chopped garlic for 2-3 hours or overnight. Keep the marinade.

Take the pork fillet out of the marinade and brown in a frying pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 180ºC Fan. Reserve the meat juices.

Make the sauce up using the meat juices, some of the marinade, lemon juice and cream. Heat through thoroughly and add salt and pepper.

Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy and leave aside.

Take the pork out of the oven, make sure it is cooked through. Slice into medallions and arrange on a plate. Pour the sauce over and garnish with the crispy bacon. Serve with the creamy mashed potatoes.

God Apetit