Mustard Pork Chops

Directions

I love the old French favourites, the sorts that evoke not the supercilious waiter and theatrically-removed silvered dome of the big name restaurants, but rather the small town bistro, all warm wood and rough red.

This is possibly the easiest route to a proper, filling and yet strangely delicate dinner. The pork is cooked for just enough time to take away pinkness but ensure tenderness within, and gloriously scorched without. The mustard, cider and cream add comfort and piquancy. To soak up the gorgeous juices, and to serve as a fantastically quicktime potato substitute, I serve up gnocchi alongside. You could always add a little lemony fennel, sliced thinly, or a green salad if you're in the mood.

Ingredients

• 2 pork chops, about 1-pound total weight
• 2 teaspoons infused oil
• 1/2 cup hard cider
• 1 tablespoon grain mustard
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Cut the fat or rind off the chops, and then bash them briefly but brutally with a rolling pin between 2 pieces of cling film/plastic wrap to make them thinner.

Heat the oil in a pan, and then cook the chops over a moderately-high heat for about 5 minutes a side. Remove them to a warmed plate.

Pour the cider into the pan, still over the heat, to deglaze the pan. Let it bubble away for a minute or so then add the mustard and stir in the cream.

Let the sauce continue cooking for a few minutes before pouring over each plated pork chop. If you're having gnocchi with, make sure you turn them in the pan to absorb any spare juices before adding them to your plates.