https://montrealgazette.com/life/food/six-oclock-solution-pork-chops-baked-with-beets-and-apples
Diana Henry’s Oven To Table has provided some great, easy suppers so I turned to her on this damp, winter evening. As there were just two of us obviously I halved the quantities.
First, the caraway seeds, garlic, salt and oil were pounded in the pestle and mortar. Caraway is pretty firm so I didn’t bother trying to get it beyond the “rough paste”. The chops were then coated and chilled. There isn’t a huge amount for the two pieces.
The vegetables were simple to prepare; just a bit of rough chopping. The spice mix was oil, cider vinegar, sugar, paprika and chilli flakes. The onions, beetroot and apples were tossed in this and laid in the bottom of the roasting tin. They were baked at 180C for 10 mins.
The pork chops, once marinated, were browned in a frying pan. I held the chops on the skin side as much as possible to crisp them and render out the fat. Then the faces were browned, moving them as little as possible until they were flipped. The aim at this point is to colour and not cook. If you cook too much at this point then the oven will probably dry them out.
The chops and their juices were then placed on the vegetables and the pan returned to the oven for another 20 mins.
I didn’t add anything to this as there was quite a lot in the pan so it was just a sprinkling of parsley for colour.
You’re not going to be hungry after polishing this off. The caraway is a classic pairing with the pork and chilli and vinegar zing to cut through the earthiness of the beetroot. You might think that some sort of sauce is needed but the apples lend moisture as does the beetroot and I guess if I’d had the sour cream that would have ticked a box.
Do it again? I think the only change I would make would be to roast the vegetables in a slightly larger tin/pan to allow them to caramelise a little more before the pork is added.
Simple to prepare, different, warming. All good. Oh, and only one pan to wash up …
Do it again? 