Pork with Apples and Calvados

There are some luxuries in the kitchen that really do help to perk up certain dishes, and one of these is a bottle of Calvados because it seems to have within it all the concentrated aroma and flavour of an apple loft.

This recipe can be doubled for four people, using a larger pan. It is great served with new potatoes and fine green beans to absorb all that lovely sauce.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch how to chop onions in our video, press the recipe image to play

This recipe is from The Delia Collection: Pork. Serves 2

method
Ingredients

Method

First of all, heat half the oil and half the butter in the frying pan over a medium heat.

Then add the apples and shallots together with the sugar and turn the heat up high. Toss everything around until caramelised and tinged brown at the edges (this will take about 6-8 minutes), then use a draining spoon to transfer on to a plate to cool. Next, pat the chops dry with a piece of kitchen paper and season them with salt and pepper. Now add the rest of the oil and butter to the pan and, keeping the heat high, brown the chops for about 5 minutes on each side.

After that, heat the Calvados in a small saucepan and, when it is hot, set light to it and pour it carefully over the browned chops (it's a good idea to have a large pan lid handy just in case!). When the flames have died down, pour the cider into the pan, lower the heat to medium and allow the sauce to bubble and reduce for about 15 minutes or until it has turned syrupy. After that, stir in the crème fraîche and reduce the heat. Return the caramelised apples to the pan to heat through briefly, then taste to check the seasoning. Serve the chops with the sauce poured over them.