I had two thick old fashioned pork chops in the freezer that had Todd's name on them. He so loves a nice pork chop every now and then. He gets tired of chicken, chicken, chicken. Me, I could eat chicken every day and never tire of it, but he does like some red meat once in a while.
When I buy chops I like to get the old fashioned ones, loin chops with the rib bone attached, almost like a spare rib . . . but with plenty of meat.
This is what they will look like with a rib bone, some fatty meat and a nice medallion of loin attached, with a bordering of lovely white fat at the outer edge. I always clip this edge at even intervals prior to cooking as it helps them to lay nice and flat without curling up as they cook.
I like a bit of fat on and in my chops. We have been taught that this is a bad thing, and whilst I would agree that too much fat is not good, a little bit of it is what helps to keep meat tender and flavourful. It's not safe to eat pork rare so in this case some fat is necessary or you end up with dry chops.
I have a cookbook called "How to feed your whole family a healthy, balanced diet with very little money and hardly any time, even if you have a tiny kitchen, only three saucepans (One with an ill-fitting lid) and no fancy gadgets, unless you count the garlic crusher," by Gill Holcombe. (Now that's quite the name for a cookery book don't you think!)
Its filled with lots of lovely little recipes and there was one in it for cooking pork fillet with apple and apricots. I thought this recipe would adapt itself very well to cooking pork chops and so that's what I did. With fabulous results I might add.
I also cut it down to serve two people as I only had two chops. I used an eating apple that I had in the refrigerator and instead of chopping the fruit fine, I left it in larger bits, slicing the apple and cutting the apricots in half.
You might be tempted to think that there are no apricots in this as they are rather brown looking, but that is because they are organic and sulfur free. Hungry Jack soft dried apricots. So they are more like what a naturally dried apricot would be without preservatives.
The red onion was one from the bounty of a friend's garden. There is such a remarkable difference from fresh veg and those you get in the shops. Its amazing really. Just goes to show you how long the food we buy has been sitting around. I will be sorry when I have used them all up!
The chops are seasoned and simply browned on top of the stove with the onion and then you throw on the dried fruits. I used a skillet which is comfortable in the oven.
A simple sauce is made using a bit of butter, some sage, flour golden syrup and vegetable stock. This gets poured over top of the browned chops.
After that I covered the whole thing tightly with a bit of aluminum foil as I don't have an oven proof lid. (I used my cast iron skillet, which did a beautiful job.)
Once in the oven (moderate) this gets roasted for about an hour until the chops are meltingly tender and the sauce forms a delicious fruity gravy to spoon over top!
Yield: 2Author: Marie Rayner
Sweet Apple & Apricot Pork Chops
prep time: 15 minscook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 15 minsA delicious oven bake for two, with tender juicy chops and a fabulously fruit sauce. All you need on the side is perhaps some potato or rice and a tasty vegetable. You will need an oven-proof skillet.ingredients:
2 thick bone in pork chops, fat trimmed and fatty edgesnipped at 1/2 inch intervals1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped1 small apple, peeled, cored and sliced5 or 6 dried apricots, cut in half salt, pepper, sage, garlic powder, onion powder to taste1 TBS oilFor the sauce:240ml hot vegetable stock (1 cup)1 tsp butter, melted1 tsp plain flour1 tsp dried sage2 tsp golden syrup
instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
Dust
the chops all over with salt, pepper, sage garlic powder and onion
powder to taste. (You can also add a bit of cayenne if you like) Heat
the oil in a heavy oven proof skillet, large enough to hold both chops,
over medium heat. Add the chops along with the onion, and brown the
chops on both sides. Toss in the apple and apricots. Remove from the
heat. Whisk together the melted butter and flour. Whisk in the dried
sage, golden syrup and hot vegetable stock. Pour over the chops in the
skillet. Cover tightly with foil, or an ovenproof lid.
Place
into the preheated oven and roast for about 1 hour, until the chops are
meltingly tender. Serve with your favorite vegetables and rice or
potatoes. Delicious!
Created using The Recipes Generator
All in all this was fabulously delicious. I serve it with some potatoes and green beans and Todd thought he had died and gone to heaven! Bon Appetit!
