Pork chop with prunes

Recipes

Serves2

Preparation30 Mins

Cooking Time60 Mins

My mother used to cook this recipe for me as a child, often to celebrate a special occasion. 50 years later, we teach it in the Raymond Blanc Cookery School to our own young cooks of the future, and they love it just as much. You might have noticed that my mother would hardly ever use stocks - only water. She truly believed that fresh meat or vegetables would have enough flavour of their own to lend character and definition to a dish. I think that, in the context of home cooking, she was absolutely right.

Ingredients Required

For the pork loin

500g (2 bone thick chops): Pork loin, bone in, skin on and French trimmed (ask the butcher to do this for you, but keep all trimmings.)

150g: Pork trimmings

50ml: Water

1 pinch: Sea salt

150ml: Water or brown chicken stock

30ml: Sunflower oil

30g: Unsalted butter

1 clove: Garlic, peeled and crushed

1 sprig: Fresh thyme

2 leaves: Fresh sage

50ml: Madeira wine

6: Prunes, d’Agen (de-stoned and halved)

45ml / 3tbsp: Cognac

Cooking Method

Step 1

Stir in the prunes in the cognac and leave to soak 12 hours prior to cooking.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 120°C.

In a medium ovenproof frying pan on a low-medium heat, add the oil, season the meat with salt and place skin side down in the pan for 10 minutes.

Start with one edge for 5 minutes, then turn it onto the other edge of the skin for a further 5 minutes, ensuring the whole skin is evenly browned and crispy.

Once an evenly crisp skin has been achieved, remove the pork from the pan, discard the oil.

Step 3

Add half of the butter and, on a medium heat, bring it to a light hazelnut stage.

Return the pork to the pan on its flesh side, reduce the heat a little and pan-fry for 5 minutes.

Do not move the pork, so the juices run out to create a beautiful residue on the bottom of the pan. It should be a gentle sizzling noise, not aggressive.

Once a golden brown colour has been achieved on one side, turn the meat over to cook the other side for the same amount of time and add the trimmings.

Baste the chop with the foaming butter.

Step 4

Meanwhile, in a separate small frying pan on a medium heat, add the remaining butter and the pork trimmings. Brown for 5 minutes, but do not stir.

Add 50ml water and de-glaze the pan. Transfer the trimmings and all the juices to the pan with the pork. Place the pork on top of the trimmings. They will serve as a trivet to keep the meat away
from direct heat and allow the heat to circulate.

Add the garlic, thyme and sage.

Step 5

Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and roast for 30 minutes until you reach a core temperature of 60°C.

Baste occasionally.

Step 6

Remove the pork from the pan and leave to rest on a plate for 15 minutes, covered with tin foil. Some wonderful things will now happen!

As the meat relaxes, the juices will flow out, and at the same time, the temperature of the meat will continue to rise, up to 65-66ºC. There is a mistaken belief that resting is only to relax the meat. It is true the heat contracts it, but the heat has momentum and energy of its own, and during resting, the temperature can rise by up to 20% in 30 minutes. Then it will decline.

Step 7

Place the frying pan back on the stove on a medium heat, add the pork juices from the plate and de-glaze with the Madeira. Boil for a few seconds.

Add the water and, using a spatula, stir thoroughly to incorporate all the residue created during the roasting.

Taste and correct the seasoning, strain the jus and return to the pan.

Step 8

Add the soaked prunes and simmer gently for 3-5 minutes. Strain. Serve with potato purée and steamed cabbage. You can choose to carve the meat in front of your guests or in the discretion of your kitchen.

Chef tips

"Other meats can be cooked this way; for example, a large rib of beef, a veal chop, or a simple pork chop. They invariably provide a quick and delicious meal for the family."

"Plums, damsons, apples, mirabelles and other fruits could accompany this dish."

Voila!

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Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons: The Story of a Modern Classic

A personal tour of Raymond Blanc's legendary restaurant-hotel through the four seasons, with 120 recipes from his celebrated kitchens.

Set in the rolling Oxfordshire hills, Le Manoir is a bastion of haute cuisine and a beacon of l'art de vivre. It is also the only country house hotel in Britain to have held two Michelin stars for more than three decades.

This book is Raymond's personal tour of Le Manoir through the seasons; the ultimate host, he lovingly reveals the stories behind the incredible rooms and gardens that guests travel the world over to experience. But it is food that is at the heart of Le Manoir, and here you will find the recipes for its most celebrated dishes, which range from those that can be recreated at home - such as Soupe au pistou and Soufflé de rhubarbe - to the sensational creations - including Thème sur la tomate and Cassolette d'abricot - which have earned the restaurant its status as one of the world's legendary gastronomic destinations.

With spectacular photography of the exquisite dishes, inviting rooms and the prized gardens, as well as beautiful and witty illustrations, the fairy tale of Le Manoir has been brought charmingly to life.

Bloomsbury Publishing

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