Loin of pork with scrumpy sauce, candied walnuts, crisp black pudding and hispi cabbage

Pork chops aren’t just for midweek meals – this recipe shows you how to turn them into something really special.

Ingredients

For the scrumpy sauce

• 25g/1oz unsalted butter
• 4 bramley apples, peeled and cut into chunks
• 50g/1¾oz caster sugar
• 200ml/7fl oz scrumpy cider

For the candied walnuts

• 100g/3½oz caster sugar
• 100g/3½oz walnut halves
• rapeseed oil, for shallow frying

For the crisp black pudding

• 200g/7oz black pudding
• 50g/1¾oz plain flour
• 2 free-range eggs, beaten
• 50g/1¾oz panko breadcrumbs
• rapeseed oil, for deep frying

For the pork

• 1 kg/2lb 4oz bone-in pork loin, French trimmed, cut into four thick chops
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the hispi cabbage

• 25g/1oz unsalted butter
• 1 hispi cabbage, sliced thickly
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

1. For the apple scrumpy sauce, heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the apples, sugar and the scrumpy cider. Bring to a simmer over a gentle heat and cook until the apples are very soft. Add a little more cider or water if the mixture becomes too dry. Stir from time to time.

2. Next make the candied walnuts. Make a syrup by heating the sugar with 100ml/3½fl oz water until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and add the walnut halves. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

3. For the crisp black pudding, cut the pudding into 2½cm/1in chunks. Dust the pieces in flour, dip in the beaten egg and coat with panko breadcrumbs. Store in the fridge until ready to cook.

4. For the pork, season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat a dry non-stick pan over a medium heat until hot. Place the chops in the pan to render down the fat (this needs to be done gently so that the fat becomes brown and crisp). Turn over and cook in the same way as before. When the pork is cooked (approximately 10 minutes), remove from the pan and set aside to rest in a warm place until ready to serve.

5. For the candied walnuts, drain the walnuts and discard the syrup.

6. In a deep frying pan or sauté pan, heat the rapeseed oil until hot. Shallow fry the walnuts until crisp (approximately 30 seconds), then drain on kitchen paper. Repeat the process with the black pudding. Set aside to drain on kitchen paper.

7. For the cabbage, heat the butter with 50ml/2fl oz water to make an emulsion. Add the cabbage, cover with a lid and steam for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

8. To serve, place a pork chop on each plate with a spoonful of apple sauce, some candied walnuts, crisp black pudding and hispi cabbage. Drizzle over any cooking juices from the pan the pork chops were cooked in.

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