Put Pork on Your Fork

Grilled pork chops

with roast butternut squash & chestnuts with a walnut & endive salad

Preparation time: 20 minutes


Serves: 4 people


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Ingredients:

Ingredients for pork chops:
4 pork chops
6 sage leaves
1 tbsp of picked thyme leaves
3 large garlic cloves
1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

Ingredients for butternut and chestnuts:
1 small butternut squash (600g), peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
150g of blanched chestnuts, slightly broken up
4 small red onions, quartered
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Ingredients for walnut and endive salad:
2 large endives, leaves separated but left whole
50g walnut halves
10g chives cut into 2cm lengths
1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard
125ml walnut oil
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C
  2. Make the marinade by crushing the garlic and herbs in a pestle and mortar along with a little salt.
  3. Rub this onto the chops and if using the chopped chilli also.
  4. Place a griddle pan on the hob on a low heat and leave the meat to marinate while you prepare the rest of the dish.
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  5. In a bowl, toss the butternut squash in a generous amount of olive oil along with the herbs and seasoning. Add the onion quarters making sure they are well coated and taking care not to break them up.
  6. Place these in a lightly oiled baking tray and sprinkle liberally with balsamic vinegar.
  7. Roast for 40 minutes. Check and turn the vegetables halfway through cooking adding the chestnuts at this point.
  8. When done, leave in a warm place covered with tin foil.
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  9. Meanwhile, turn up the heat under the griddle. When very hot, start cooking the chops. They will need about 6-8 minutes on each side.
  10. When they are cooked, leave them to rest, covered until ready to serve.
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  11. In a small bowl, mix the mustard and vinegar well.
  12. Slowly add the walnut oil, whisking constantly, until you get a thick emulsion. Season to taste.
  13. Toss the endive leaves, chives and walnuts with some of the dressing.
  14. To serve, place some of roasted butternut squash on the plate slightly resting a pork chop on it, a little of the salad on the side and some Dijon mustard.Note:
    If you do not have a griddle pan, you can just as easily cook the pork chops under the grill, the cooking times will be very similar.
    The chops are done when no longer pink in the middle but still very moist looking.