NORMANDY PORK CHOPS

 

This time I'm going to show you how to prepare a delicious, savoury dish using apples. By the end of the 60's and early 70's we had started to travel abroad - mainly across The Channel on the ferries and suddenly we were introduced to new foods and recipes. This dish is my take on a recipe using the rich products available in the Normandy region of northern France - cider, apples, butter and cream. Please don't run a mile when you hear the words - butter and cream. I'm not advocating eating this type of food every day but it is a delicious dish for entertaining and a little indulgence once in a while doesn't do anybody any harm. If you're still worried - you can use oil or low fat spread instead of butter and creme fraiche instead of the cream, but don't expect the dish to taste quite the same!

Ingredients

4 pork chops
2 tablespoons olive oil (or whatever you prefer)
1 teaspoon butter
1 large onion - skin removed and chopped fairly finely
1 teaspoon dried sage
500 ml can cider (I used an English scrumpy but you can use any type of cider)
4 fluid ounces/100mls water
2 chicken stock cubes
small carton double cream
2 teaspoons cornflour mixed to a smooth paste with 2 tablespoons cold water
salt and black pepper for seasoning
1 Bramley apple
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon soft brown or caster sugar.

Method

1.Sprinkle each side of the pork chops with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
2. Place olive oil and the teaspoon of butter in a frying pan (I use both fats - oil for a higher temperature and butter for the taste). On a high heat, bring to a sizzle but do not allow the butter to burn. Place chops (2 at a time) in the pan and fry for about a minute on both sides until they are nicely browned as in the photograph.

3. Take chops out of pan and place on kitchen paper to get rid of excess fat. 

4.Turn the heat on the cooker ring down to medium and fry the chopped onion in the same pan as the one used to brown the chops. There should be enough fat left in the pan - if not add a little extra oil. Fry the onions until they start to soften - try not to brown them.

4. Add dried sage - mix together with wooden spoon

5. Pour the can of cider and the water into the onion mixture. Bring to the boil.

6. Crush the stock cubes into the hot liquid and stir until dissolved. Take off the heat.

7. Place the browned chops in an ovenproof, lidded casserole dish. Pour over the onions and stock liquid. Cover with lid or aluminium foil.

8. Place in a moderate oven - 180C/ Fan 160C/ Gas 4 for at least 1 1/2 hours - depending on the thickness of the chops. The ones I used took 2 hours for them to be really tender.

9. When cooked, gently lift the chops, place on serving dish, cover with foil and keep warm. We always used oval dishes to serve savoury foods. To be honest I still do because I think the presentation is better.

10, Transfer the cooking liquor back into wiped frying pan. If there is a lot of fat on the surface, blot with kitchen paper - 2 pieces should do it. Add the pot of double cream. You can now boil the sauce fiercely on a high heat until it reduces by half. (This can only be done with double cream as boiling any of the alternatives would result in the sauce curdling) You can however thicken the sauce by adding cornflour mixed to a paste with cold water. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper if required.

11. Pour some sauce over chops on serving dish. Pour remaining sauce into sauce boat and serve separately.

12. In the meantime, peel, core and slice the Bramley apple thinly and in a clean pan fry gently in the butter. When the apple pieces start to soften add the sugar and carry on the cooking process until the apple slices are soft and a pale golden brown but still keep their shape. Using a slotted spoon, lift them out of the pan and place on top of pork chops as a garnish - see top photograph.

13. Serve with saute potatoes and a colourful vegetable such as carrots or green beans.

Tip - for current more casual dining you could use diced pork for this dish. Cook in exactly the same way but before serving, place pork in the sauce and serve with tagliatelle and a green salad. Use the apple slices to garnish the pasta dish in the same way. You could also sprinkle with chopped parsley to lift the colour.

Most of the things for this dish were available back in the 60's and 70's - olive oil wasn't used much in the U.K.and the main stock cube was OXO. I often wonder what we did without kitchen paper!