Description: A pork specialty of the Prancing Pony in Bree, fit for a human, hobbit, dwarf, or a ranger who will be king!

Submitted by: Wulf_Sternhammer on 2004-07-27 06:59:34

Serves: written per serve

Prep Time: 1 - 1 1/2 hours

Difficulty: Intermediate

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Ingredients

Lean porkchops X 1 per serve
Apples, Granny Smith or similar cooking type X 3
Dried Figs X 150g
Brown sugar X ¾ cup
Apple cider vinegar X ¾ cup
Ground cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice X ¼ tsp of each
Dry white wine (Chardonnay or similar)


Instructions

Peel and core apples, then dice and place into a pot. Add spices and enough water to cover bottom, and bring to the boil. Whilst heating apples, chop figs and add to apples as they come to the boil. Reduce heat and stir in the sugar and apple cider vinegar. Keep stirring over gentle heat until all the ingredients have combined thoroughly and the chutney thickens. Remove from heat.
This chutney can be bottled and stored or frozen. Remember to thoroughly sterilize jars in boiling water for at least 10 minutes if bottling to keep.

To cook the pork chops, fry in a large pan lightly sprayed with canola oil. When they are cooked, remove from the pan and allow to stand. Drain the excess oil from the pan, ensuring the meat juices remain. Keeping the pan hot, add 1 – 2 cups of the wine to de-glaze the pan. This involves the acid in the wine lifting all the flavours from the meat, off the pan and suspending them in the liquid. The acid in the wine also breaks down the fats, further enhancing the flavour. Simmer the wine for several minutes, reducing the volume by 2/3.

To Serve:
A suggestion for serving: Place a handful of baby spinach leaves onto the plate and spread evenly. Onto this and slightly off centre, place a small mound of diced potato that has been deep fried and lightly tossed with seasoned salt. Place the chop on top and drizzle with the white wine reduction. Top with a good sized spoonful of the chutney, and a side of lightly steamed carrot sticks, yellow butter beans, and strips of red capsicum, served offside to the pork chop.
Enjoy!