Thursday 30 April 2009

Chop-tastic

Pork & Cider, you only have to look through a few old recipe books to see that this combo has some pedigree. The two ingrediants have a natural affinity like, say, Sage & Onion, which of course also goes very well with Pork & Cider...

The last two meaty chops from those clever rare-breeders at Crackbottle Road (Keythorpe Rare Breeds) needed something special, and what could be more special than a combination of flavours sourced almost exclusively from local suppliers. The pork was of course sourced from just down the road, the fresh Sage and Rockingham Forest Cider came from even closer to home (our Sage has gone berserk this year, I think it's the coffee grounds I keep tipping around it, that and the fact the hens can't get at it anymore!), the Garlic from wherever it is they grow garlic these days, but via our excellent local farmshop in Ashley.

This is another of my ultra-simple procedures. If it's a choice between a trip to the Red Lion for a pre-dinner pint, or a long cooking session at home, we generally try to do both, so the simpler the recipe is, the better. The chops were trimmed of their rind as I wasn't planning to try and crackle them. Seasoned, and (ahem) pan-fried with a few cloves of garlic until browned. Into the oven with them whilst a good few leaves of Sage are given a short fry-up. De-glaze with a generous slosh of cider, pour over the chops and return to the oven to cook through.

We served the chops with Mustard Mash, seasonal veg from Ashley Herb Farm, all drizzled with the sagey, garlicky, cidery juices. Oh! and a glass of Rockingham Forest Cider on the side too. Yum-yum!

2 comments:

Phil said...

Looks great Mark.
You're really lucky to have Ashley Herb Farm Shop close by. I was really impressed when I visited - it's a real community farm shop.

Phil

Mark said...

We do indeed feel very lucky, Sue and her team seem to have got things just right at the Herb Farm. She would like to sell local beers, wines and our cider, but the licencing procedure is quite expensive for what would be relatively modest sales.

We are of course also lucky to have such a fine advocate of local produce in yourself Phil. Keep up the good work.