Ingredients

The following ingredients have 2 Servings
  • 2 pork chops (I used boneless pork loin chops, totaling 1lb/450g, but could also use on the bone)
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 oz smoked bacon (110g streaky; approx 4 slices/rashers)
  • 1 onion (small)
  • 10 oz rutabaga (280g swede)
  • 1 apple
  • 1/2 tbsp butter (5g)
  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 11 oz hard apple cider (330ml can cider (you probably won't use all))
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme

Instruction

  • Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.
  • Pat the pork chops dry and sprinkle both sides of them with a little salt and pepper. Dice the onion and cut the rutabaga/swede into large bite-sized pieces. Quarter the apple, remove the core then cut each quarter into four pieces cross-wise.
  • Warm the butter and oil in a wide ovenproof dish/skillet over a medium-high heat. Sear the pork on all sides (including the fat), cooking just a couple minutes each side to let it brown. Remove the chops from the pan and set aside.
  • Add the bacon and onion to the pan and cook for a couple minutes until the onion softens and bacon is cooked but not yet crisp. Add the rutabaga and swede to the pan, cook a couple minutes then add the pork back into the pan, nestling them in between everything else.
  • Pour over the cider until it almost covers everything. stir in the mustard and scatter over the thyme (or use sage, if you prefer, but use approx 1/2 quantity).
  • Cover the dish either with a lid or foil, if it doesn't have a lid, and put in the oven for approx 25-30min until pork is cooked and rutabaga and apple are tender.