Tasty Books #1 Maple Black Pepper Pork Chops

Time and time again I sit in front of the fire with a cuppa and a good (cook) book. The original shelves in The Glen House are already full, so we recently added another bookcase!

love and cupcakes wrote a piece last month confirming exactly what I thought, I’m not alone… So many of us have dozens, if not hundreds of cookery books on all sorts of related subjects.

Yesterday, I accidentally bought another couple to the collection. For a fiver I added these lovely books; 500 Indian and 500 curry recipes… Mmmmmm!

Leaving the curries aside (for now), I looked to Irish author Rachel Allen for a recipe for my dinner last night: maple black pepper pork chops

Ingredients:
4-6 tbsps olive oil
4 pork chops, each about 1.5cm thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 red onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsps chopped thyme leaves 100ml cider vinegar
150ml maple syrup

Pour four tablespoons of olive oil into a large frying pan (preferably not a non-stick pan as a non-stick pan won’t catch the browned pieces of pork, which are essential for this sauce) over a medium heat.

Season the pork chops all over with two teaspoons of salt and, when the oil is hot, add these to the pan. Cook for three to five minutes on each side, depending on how thick the chops are; they should be nicely browned on each side and cooked all the way through. Transfer from the pan on to a warmed plate, then cover with foil and place somewhere warm. If there isn’t much oil left in the pan, add the extra tablespoons, then tip in the onions and thyme leaves. Season with more salt, then stir-fry for about three minutes, or until the onions have softened but not browned. Pour in the vinegar and, using a wooden spoon, scrape off and stir in the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for a further two minutes, then stir in the maple syrup and one teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a simmer once again and cook for seven to 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced to a sticky glaze. Taste for seasoning, then pour the sauce over the pork chops.

I served the chops with mashed sweet potato with some freshly grated nutmeg.

Rachel’s Easy Meals is a great book (well used spot the pink post it notes),  and full of great recipes!

Melissa xx