Pan-fried Pork

On those days when I’m really tired to cook I need to eat well. It’s only natural that after a very long day I need to have a fulfilling (*not* as in cannot-eat-anymore-because-I-am-full thing) but a nice cozy supper without too much work.

So a little while ago I got some pork loins on a whim and as usual I got home and wondered why I bought them. Ironic isn’t it: with so many cookbooks in my library I couldn’t quite think of something. Then I thought why not make the easiest thing ever? Simply season them and grill or pan-fry them with some potatoes and green veg. And you’re done. This is how I did it.

For 2 pieces you will need:

• ¼ teaspoon salt,
• ¼ teaspoon fresh peppercorns, crushed
• ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
• 7 tablespoons plain flour

1. Score the skin on the pork to enable this to crisp up. You will not want to eat it later, but you will need to keep it on for the meat to stay moist.
2. Mix the salt, pepper, coriander seeds and flour in a shallow plate and coat the pork pieces evenly.
3. Shallow fry the meat in a little butter and a spot or two of vegetable oil (so that the butter doesn’t burn on you) till the meat is tender, approximately for 5 minutes per side.
4. In the same pan I placed some pre-boiled potatoes and roasted them with the meat, and served everything with fine green beans, boiled for a few minutes, then blanched in cold water to stop the cooking process. I like my veggies with a little bit of bite, but you can cook them for however long you like.
5. For the sauce tip the remaining flour mixture in the pan and add some white wine or dry vermouth and whisk till you have no lumps. Add a teeny bit of cream and whisk again. Taste and season if you need to. Pour this over the meat.

Enjoy your supper today with friends or family, or even alone. We all need some alone time sometimes.

Happy New Year!

Rob x

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Pork and Apples

This is something which we made very recently. It’s really nothing special but a pork and apple pairing does wonders. Good quality meat is lovely even all by itself – any good quality ingredient really. However I feel that with some extra effort any meal can be heart-warming or festive.

Unfortunately, when we moved to a new place last year I found the freezer to be too small. Having said that, I now find that it suits our needs just fine now; I have learnt to buy less and use what I have before buying anything. I had a couple of pork loins which I wanted to use but didn’t want to worry about any complicated recipe. I always have apples in the fruit bowl and I had three unattractive ones past their prime. I found a quick sauce in Nigella Express which was perfect, but which I changed around with more shortcuts. All I needed was an large onion, around 2 tablespoons of butter, pinch of salt, my three apples, 2 tablespoons of gin (Nigella uses pink gin, but the white variety which I used is ok), juice of a lemon and some chilli flakes to taste. (A fresh chilli is preferable but I had just made some chilli oil with mine, so flakes had to go in  with the apples instead.)

It’s so quick and easy. All you have to do is soften the onions in the butter, with some salt. Peel and cut the apples in bite-seized cubes and add them with the onion mixture. Pour in the gin and lemon juice, add the chilli flakes (or use a fresh one) and mix. Cook on the hob on medium heat for around 20 to 15 minutes. And you’re done. Good with anything. I think I could eat this as is – without the meat. Enjoy!

Rob x