PORK CHOPS WITH SAGE RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
  2. Peel and halve the potatoes, then cook in boiling salted water for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, return to the pan and cover.
  3. Meanwhile, trim the strip of skin from each chop in 1 piece and set aside.
  4. Rub the chops with a little oil, then pick and press a couple of sage leaves on to each side, and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
  5. Place a wide ovenproof frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the strips of skin, skin-side down, place a heavy pan on top to keep them flat, then fry for a couple of minutes, or until crisp – just like crackling.
  6. Push the crackling strips to the side of the pan, add the pork chops, and fry for 1 minute on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven (if you don't have an ovenproof pan, transfer the chops to a preheated baking tray instead). Roast for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chops), or until cooked through.
  7. Meanwhile, chop half the watercress, pick and finely chop the parsley and trim and finely chop the spring onions.
  8. Heat the milk with the bay leaves until almost boiling, then add the parsley, spring onions and the chopped watercress. Switch off the heat and leave the bay leaves to infuse in the milk for a few minutes, then fish out the bay leaves and discard.
  9. Add the warm potatoes to the milk and mash until smooth. Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Cover with a lid and keep warm, until needed.
  10. Put a little butter on top of the champ, and serve with the pork chops, crackling and remaining watercress.

Steps:

• 1. Place the pork chops, skin-side down, on a chopping board. Carefully run a sharp knife along the edge of the chops, removing the skin and leaving a thin layer of pork fat on the chop. (You could ask your butcher to do this for you.) Set aside.
  2. To make the marinade, pick and finely chop the rosemary leaves and most of the sage leaves, then lightly crush the unpeeled garlic cloves with the palm of your hand. Tip into a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Rub the marinade into the pork chops, then cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or preferably overnight.
  3. When you’re ready to cook your pork chops, slice the pork skin into 1cm-thick lardons and place in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Fry the lardons, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
  4. With a sharp knife, lightly score the pork fat on the chops and place one on top of the other. Place the pan back on a medium-high heat, then use tongs to hold the chops fat-side down in the pan and sear for 3 to 4 minutes, until the fat has started to render.
  5. Lay the chops down flat in the pan, throwing in the garlic too, and cook for 7 minutes, turning every minute or so and basting with the lovely pan juices, until browned and cooked through.
  6. With 2 minutes of the pork cooking time left to go, quarter and core the pears, then nestle them into the pan alongside the chops and poke in the remaining sage leaves and cook for 1 minute.
  7. Remove the pork to a board to rest, then reduce the temperature to medium-low and leave the pears to caramelise for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
  8. Slice the pork off the bone and carve into slices and squeeze the garlic from their skins. Serve with the caramelised pear, crispy sage, a little crispy crackling, your favourite style potatoes (I like hasselback) and some seasonal greens.