Stuffed Pork Chops with Sage

Stuffed Pork Chops with Sage

This is my take on quite a regular weekly dinner for some. This version really ups the flavour stakes and will definitely leave you wanting more.

Serves 4:

1kg of floury potatoes, diced with skins left on

4 thick pork chops on the bone

1 bulb of garlic

200g packet of bacon lardons

24 fresh sage leaves

2oz of softened butter

4 dried apricots finely diced

Rapeseed oil

Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°c. Put the potatoes into a saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Boil for 4-5 mins; you only want to par-boil them. Drain them in a colander and let them dry off in the steam.

Lay the pork chops flat on a chopping board and insert a small paring knife in horizontally into the chop and make a hidden pocket making sure the tip of the knife does not come out either side.

On a clean board place the butter, dried apricots, a finely chopped clove of garlic, 8 chopped sage leaves and a pinch of both salt and pepper. Now mash all together with a fork making it into a flavoured butter. Push this butter equally into the pockets of the pork chops.

Take 8 leaves of sage and dress them in rapeseed oil and then dip one side down in some plain flour and push one flour side down onto each side of the chops. Set aside.

In a large oven dish pour in the potatoes along with the bacon lardons and the rest of the cloves of garlic, season and drizzle with oil. Place into the preheated oven. After 10 mins place a frying pan onto a hot hob and add a drizzle of oil, when the pan is really hot put in the chops and fry for 10 mins turning occasionally to get them nice and golden.

Remove the dish from the oven and add the chops on top in a layer, pop back into the oven for 10-15 mins depending on the thickness of the chops.