Slow-cooked pork chops with lentils and cider
Ingredients to serve 4
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4 pork chops, about 175g each, rind and most of the fat removed
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
2 crunchy eating apples, unpeeled and grated
2 sprigs of fresh sage
175g puy lentils
300ml good-quality dry cider
420ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
splash of Worcestershire sauce
100g 0 per cent fat natural Greek yogurt
freshly ground black pepper
Pork, sage and apple are a great partnership. Try to get an old British breed such as a Middle White or a Gloucester Old Spot if you can: old breeds, more flavour.
This recipe also works really well with pheasant; reduce the cooking time from one hour to 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large casserole dish, add the chops and brown them all over. Remove the meat from the dish and set aside, and discard any excess fat in the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, carrot, apple and sprigs of sage and cook over a moderate heat for eight minutes.
Add the lentils, stir to combine, then add the cider and stock and bring to the boil. Return the chops to the dish, reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for one hour. Remove the chops, cover with foil and set aside to rest.
Increase the heat under the casserole dish and boil the sauce to reduce it. Meanwhile, whisk together the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and yogurt, and season with pepper. When the sauce has reduced by half, fold in the flavoured yogurt, then return the chops, turn off the heat and check the seasoning before serving.
This recipe is low in calories, high in fibre and, like all the recipes in my new book, is suitable for people with diabetes.
Energy, 491 kcals; protein, 54.3g; fat, 14.2g; saturated fat, 4.1g; carbohydrate, 36.4g; total sugars 14.1g; fibre, 6.1g; salt 0.87g; sodium, 344mg.
From 'The Essential Diabetes Cookbook' by Anthony Worrall Thompson (Kyle Cathie, £20).
Sommelier's choice
M&S Beaujolais 2008, France
This relatively light-bodied wine, with a lively bouquet of mulberries and cherry, would perfectly complement this dish.
Marks & Spencer, £5.99, www.marksandspencer.com
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