Pan fried glazed pork chops with dressed vegetables

Method

To  prepare your pork, using a very sharp knife, carefully trim the skin off the edges of each chop- you’re going to turn this into crackling. Cut each strip of skin lengthways into 2 strips, so you end up with 8 strips in total.

Use a sharp knife to make cuts every 1cm along the fat remaining on the chops – this will help it render while cooking.

Rub both sides of the chops with olive oil and season really well with salt & pepper also season the strips of skin.

To cook your pork, put a frying pan over a high heat and add your strips of skin.

Move them about in the hot pan and give 4-5mins on each side turning every minute.

When they’re looking golden, add a few sage leaves soaked in oil to the pan.

Spoon a large tablespoon of apple sauce over each chop.

Keep turning the chops over so they get nicely coated, have the confidence to cook them to a redish-golden colour and wonderfully thick and sticky.

Remove the chops to a plate and let them rest for a minute or two, squeezing over a little lemon juice if you want to balance out the sweetness a bit.

 

To serve

Serve your chops on a plate, with the crackling and the crispy sage leaves

 

Baked carrots in a bag

Serves 4

Ingredients

700g carrots
1 rasher
2 sprigs fesh rosemary
1 clove garlic
1 orange
1 tsp marmalade
2 knobs butter
Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 200C, peel 700g carrots, chop into the same size.

Get 60cm long of tinfoil, fold it in half to make a crease and then open it again.

Pile your carrots in the middle of the foil on to one side of the crease.

Finely slice 1 rasher of smoked streaky bacon.

Pick the leaves off 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and finely chop

Peel 1 clove of garlic and finely slice.

Scatter the bacon, rosemary and garlic over the carrots.

Grate over the zest of ½ an orange and add one tsp of marmalade, 2 knobs of butter and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Fold the other half of the foil over the carrots and scrunch and seal the two sides of the foil bag together leaving one end open.

Halve the orange and squeeze all the juice into the bag, seal up the final side.

Place your foil bag on a baking tray in the preheated oven for around 50 minutes.

To serve

Carefully pour the carrots and all their juices into a nice big serving dish.

 

Dressed asparagus

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g asparagus
Salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Pinch chopped parsley
Pepper

Take each spear of asparagus and bend the base of each stalk to click the woody ends off, leaving you with the tender tips.

Have a pan of boiling salted water ready to which you add all the asparagus.

Place a lid on, bring back to the boil and cook for 1 – 2 ½ minutes depending on how thick your asparagus spears are.

Put extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and a good pinch of chopped parsley into a bowl and whisk together with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Drain the asparagus, place on a serving dish and drizzle over the vinagarette making sure that all the spears are coated.