I had a molar pulled this afternoon and am not feeling that great tonight. I am sure glad that I got a good dinner in before I went to the Dentist, because I sure wouldn't be able to get one in at the moment . . . I want ice cream, maybe . . . or soup.
In any case I had enough forethought to make us a good dinner for our noon meal today. A tasty tray bake of beautiful free range pork chops and a beautiful mixture of roasted root vegetables . . .
Potatoes from our garden . . . the skins left on, all golden and earthily crispy, sweet carrots, from out garden as well . . . oh so sweetly caramelized along with some red onions, which were sweet and sticky . . . sweet potatoes, earthy and sweet and . . . swede (rutabaga), roasted until they, too, were sweetly caramelized and golden brown.
The pork seasoned and then browned until golden also, and then finished off in the oven . . .roasted til done . . . but still moist and oh so delicious.
The two together, simply heavenly . . . one might think that it couldn't get any better than this . . . but . . . you should really know me better than that by now . . .
I added a sweet and tangy Apple Relish . . . apples, celery, mint, basil, apple cider balsamic vinegar, olive oil . . . heaven . . . bliss . . . oh so moreishly good.
This was dinner today, and I have a feeling that it will be dinner again . . . very soon.
*Pork and Roots Traybake with an Apple Relish*
Serves 4
A one pan meal that is delicious. Crispy roasted vegetables. Tender moist chops and a sweet and tangy relish that goes very well with it all!
1.2 kg of an assortment of root vegetables (about 3 pounds)
(Swede, carrots, sweet potatoes, red onions, potatoes, etc.)
4 TBS olive oil
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
paprika to taste
1/2 tsp summer savoury
4 rindless pork loin chips, about 1 inch thick
For the Relish:
5 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 stick of celery, trimmed and finely diced
1/2 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
2 tsp apple balsamic vinegar
pinch caster sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 TBS chopped fresh basil leaves
1 TBS chopped fresh mint leaves
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 6. Peel and chop your vegetables. (Peel and cut the carrots in half crosswise and then in half lengthwise, cut the swede into long slices the size of your fingers, cut the potatoes and sweet potatoes into large chinks, (no need to peel) peel onions, and cut into wedges). Place into a roasting pan. Toss with the olive oil, salt, pepper, summer savoury and paprika to coat. Spread out and then roast in the heated oven for about 35, minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. They should be well on their way to golden.
Heat a large nonstick frying pan that you have sprayed with some nonstick cooking spray. Season the chops with salt, pepper and summer savoury. Brown well on all sides in the heated frying pan, browning the fat as well. Place them on top of the roasting vegetables. Roast for another 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.
For the relish, heat 1 TBS of the oil in a clean skillet. Add the celery and apple and cook, without browning for several minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool. Whisk the vinegar with some sugar in a bowl. Stir in the apple/celery mixture and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the remainder of the olive oil along with the herbs.
Divide the roasted vegetables amongst 4 heated plates. Top each with a chop and some of the apple relish. Delicious!
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