Ingredients
4 x 250g pork chops, preferably free-range or organic
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
2 good eating apples (e.g. Cox or russet), unpeeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
a knob of butter
a handful of fresh sage leaves
optional: 100g good strong cheese like Stilton or Taleggio
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. What I like to do is to lay the pork chops out on a board and, using a sharp knife, make 2cm deep cuts all along the fatty side of them. You can ask your butcher to do this for you if you like. It helps to render the fat out and will also make the skin crispy. Sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper.
- Pour a lug of olive oil into a hot pan. Carefully place your chops in it and cook them for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. If you need to, open out the little pieces of fat along the edge so they don’t stick together.
- When the chops are nearly done, lift them out of the pan and put them on to an oiled baking tray. Add the apple wedges and a knob of butter to the pan and fry until lightly golden. Lay 4 wedges of apple on top of each pork chop. Dress your sage leaves in a little olive oil and top each apple stack with them. Sometimes I like to top it all off with a knob of Stilton or Taleggio. Put the baking tray into the oven for 4 to 6 minutes until everything is golden and melted.
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