Pork Chop in Cider Sauce with Garlic Mash and Pancetta Cabbage

This is a family favourite from an original recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall called Pan to Oven Pork Chops and featured in his Meat book. First cooked in May 2013 at High Onn then revisited in August 2014 at Stamford Top Lodge.

 

Ingredients:

2x Pork chops, nice and thick ones from the butcher
1x Garlic bulb
1x Cabbage
1x Leek
5x Rashers of pancetta or streaky bacon
1x teaspoon of caraway seeds
1x Bottle of dry cider
Potatoes, enough to make as much mash as you want.


Method:

1. Peel and chop spuds and put in a pan of water. Add 2 peeled cloves of garlic to pan. Set aside for now.
2. Pour the cider into a pan and get boiling to reduce by at least half.
3. Turn oven on to gas 7 (220C) and put roasting pan in.
4. In a big frying pan or wok heat a drop of oil and toss in all the remain cloves of garlic with their skins on. Turn cloves over for 1-2 minutes then remove and set aside.
5. Season the pork chops well on each side and put them in the hot frying pan. Brown both sides. I also like to hold them upright with tongs, skin side down so it gets nice and crispy.
6. In the hot roasting pan arrange the chops so the skin is sticking up. I used the ends of the leeks to prop them up. Pour the cider reduction over the meat but take care not to get any on the skin. Cover the chops with the cloves of garlic then pop the lot into the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Get the spuds boiling to make mash.
8. Chop the leeks and cabbage and take a few minutes for a slurp.
9. Chop the pancetta or bacon into slivers and fry in the frying pan for a couple of minutes. Remove and set aside.
10. Add the leek to the frying pan, sweat off for a few minutes.
11. Add the caraway seeds and chopped cabbage to the pan and keep turning.
12. Add the cooked pancetta to the pan.
13. Take the chops out of the oven and set aside to rest.
14. In the microwave or a small pan heat some milk and butter for the mash.
15. Drain and mash the spuds then fork through the hot milky butter, season to taste.
16. Taste the cider sauce and season if needed. Sometimes I put a pinch of stock in and you can thicken if you like.
17. Plate up!