I'm still on night shifts, with the spaced-out feeling that goes along with that, but I felt so guilty about the rough-and-ready dinner we had last night that I felt I had to cook a proper dinner tonight. Poking about in the freezer I found some lean pork steaks that we bought at the last Farmers' Market and I loved the look of this recipe from Noble Pig, so tonight seemed like the ideal opportunity. I even got it together to go to the shops to buy apples!
I didn't used to like pork, thinking it was tough and chewy, but I was turned back on to it recently and now I'm starting to think that I just never had it cooked properly when I was a kid. I rather suspect school dinners has something to do with that. Pork needs to be cooked through, but not overcooked - that's when it goes tough! These lean, thin steaks are easy - just a couple of minutes each side is enough to cook them through.
Quality meat is important too, and I'm happy to recommend Hunts Hill Farm in Normandy - they don't seem to have a website of their own, but a quick google will bring back various local business directories with their address and opening times. They always have the widest selection of different meats at the Farmers' Market, and it's top quality, local stuff at sensible prices.
First step, pour some plain flour into a bowl (I've used too much here, to be honest), season with coriander, salt and pepper and coat the pork all over.
This gives the pork a nice crispy coating and it should thicken the sauce a little, too.
Now core and chop your apples. They'll start going brown straight away, so work fast!
Season them with salt and pepper, then heat a mixture of olive oil and butter in a frying pan and cook them, cut side down, until golden brown. You don't want them to collapse, just brown, so they only need a few minutes on each side.
Set the apples aside on a plate and leave them somewhere warm - I don't have a warming drawer, so I just set the oven to 50C and pop them in there.
Fry the pork steaks in the same pan, about three minutes on each side. You may need to add a bit more oil if the pan gets too dry.
Set the cooked pork steaks aside and pop them in the warm oven as well.
Now pour about 300ml chicken stock (I've run out of the home-made stock, so it was an Oxo cube today) and two tablespoonfuls white wine vinegar (cider vinegar would make this a bit more British) into the pan and simmer for a few minutes until it's reduced a little.
Pop the apples back into the sauce along with some fresh chopped parsley and cook for another minute, then serve the steaks with the apples and sauce over the top.
We just had it as it comes, but if you want some carbs it would be nice served on brown rice, or maybe with boiled potatoes.
Financial verdict
2 free range pork leg steaks - £2.26
2 Granny Smith apples - 20p
2 Royal Gala apples - 20p
Flour, salt, pepper, coriander, fresh parsley, chicken stock, white wine vinegar - pennies, from store
£1.33 per portion
The skinny
Coat pork steaks in flour seasoned with salt, pepper and coriander
Chop up 2 Granny Smiths and 2 Royal Galas
Cook the apples in a mixture of olive oil and butter, cut sides down
Set the apples aside and fry the pork in the same pan - three minutes each side
Set the pork aside
Pour about 200ml chicken stock and two tablespoonfuls white wine vinegar into the pan and simmer until reduced (about five minutes)
Put the apples back into the pan with some fresh chopped parsley and cook for another minute
Serve the apples and sauce over the pork
WeightWatchers ProPoints
11
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