Pork loin chops with apple sauce

SERVES 4 | 15 MINS PREP | 40 MINS COOK TIME

INGREDIENTS

4 NZ pork loin chops

• 250g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 1 large orange kumara, peeled and cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 1 juicy lemon, cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 2 sprigs sage, leaves picked
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Apple sauce

• 2-3 cooking apples
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 25g butter
• A little honey or sugar

To serve

Steamed green vegetables

METHOD

Roast vegetables

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a shallow roasting dish with baking paper.

Place the butternut squash, potato, kumara, lemon and sage leaves in a large bowl. Pour in the oil and vinegar, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat vegetables.

Tip into the roasting dish and place in the oven to roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn vegetables over. Return to the oven and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

Apple sauce

Peel and chop 2-3 cooking apples and place in a heavy-based saucepan with the juice of 1 lemon and a dash of water (to prevent sticking).  Cover apples with baking paper and saucepan lid and cook gently over low heat until soft.  

Remove from the heat, add 25g butter and mash with a fork. Sweeten apple sauce with a little honey or sugar if necessary.

Pork

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Lightly oil the pork chops and place in the hot pan. Cook for 6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook for two minutes on the other side. Then remove from the heat and rest for at least 2 minutes.

Serve pork loin chops with the roasted vegetables, apple sauce and steamed greens.

Recipe and image thanks to pork.co.nz