pork & cider stew

This is the perfect fall stew! The flavor is rich and savory, but also crisp and sweet because of the cider. I made this a few weekends ago, and ate the entire stew over the course of just a few days. I purchased my pork at Porter Road Butcher and highly recommend the use of local and/or organic meats.

 

adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

serves 4-6

2 stalks celery

2 medium onion

2 carrots

olive oil

1 heaped tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 x 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 sprigs fresh sage

1 pound diced stewing pork (about 3/4" - 1" cubes)

2 cups medium-dry hard cider (I used Woodchuck 802)

to make your stew:

*preheat oven to 350

*trim off ends of celery and roughly chop

*peel and roughly chop onions

*peel carrots, slice lengthwise, and roughly chop

*place dutch oven over medium heat

*add the veggies, herbs, and 2 lugs of oil to the dutch oven and cook for 10 minutes

*add the pork, flour, booze, and canned tomatoes

*stir and season with salt and pepper

*bring to boil, put the lid on and stick it in the oven for 2 ½ hours

*with 30 minutes of cooking time remaining, remove lid and stir in a bit of water if the stew looks dry

serving suggestion:

serve atop brown rice

nutrition per serving:
calories: 364
carbs: 18
fat: 19
protein: 17
iron: 10
sugar: 10

Pan-Fried Glazed Pork Chops

these chops had a great flavor, despite the fact that i probably over-cooked them slightly. my crackling wasn't entirely successful, since the chops i found were very lean. we had them with a salad, baked potato, and rolls; looking back i probably would have served them with a sweet potatoes instead. this was a really quick dinner, and one i plan to make again.

adapted from Jamie Oliver's 'Food Revolution'

serves 2
2 x 8-ounce pork chops
olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
4 sprigs of fresh sage
mango chutney
honey

to prepare your pork:*trim the skin off the edges of each chop to turn into crackling
*cut each strip of skin lengthwise into 2 strips, ending up with 4
*make cuts every 1/4" along the fat remaining on the chops
*rub both sides of the chops (and strips of skin) with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper
*pick the sage leaves off their stalks and toss gently in olive oil, set aside

to cook your pork:
*put a frying pan over a high heat and add strips of skin
*move them about the pan and remove when golden , crisp, crackling
*lay both chops flat in the pan and give them 4-5 minutes on each side, turning every minute
*when they're golden, add a few sage leaves to the pan
*let them crisp up and cook for about 30 seconds, then remove them to a plate
*spoon a large tablespoon of mango chutney mixed with honey over each chop
*keep turning the chops over so they get nicely coated
*remove the chops to a plate and let them rest for a minute or two

to serve your pork:
*serve your chops on a plate, with the crackling and the crispy sage leaves