Another fabulous total self sufficient dinner all from the garden, this is the first year we have succeeded in having a great choice of meals that come completely form our garden small holding, the satisfaction of shopping from the vegetable beds will never change for me I love wandering down talking to the vegetables and the chickens while I pick our dinner, the garden is always surprising me with changes.
One of my husbands favourite comfort dinners with the added left overs bonus for me of making my own crackling flavoured lard that I use in my hot water crust or rough puff pastry. The lard comes from the pork chop fat and skin that I remove from the pork and render down in the oven.
Ingredients
(serves 2)
2 pork chops fat removed
4 tbsp flour
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 ltr ground nut oil
Roasted vegetables
1 Beetroot rough chopped
2 Carrots sliced long
4 small onions halved
2 potatoes rough chopped
1 courgette rough chopped
1 leek chunky sliced
1 pepper chunky chopped
4 radishes halved
1 tbsp coconut oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Country gravy
4 rashers of bacon chopped
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp lard
2 tbsp flour
Sea salt
Black pepper
White pepper
500 ml Whole milk
Chilli corn muffins
2 cups of cornflour (polenta)
1 corn on the cob
1 onion
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tbsp sugar
2 red chillies
200g grated cheddar/Parmesan
2 eggs beaten
300ml of milk
Salt and black pepper
Pre heart your oven to 180 degrees, the roasted vegetables will take around 35 minutes, so this is your time line to serving. Peel all the vegetables and roughly chop keeping hard the vegetables the same size, toss in the coconut oil season with sea salt, black pepper and place in a shallow roasting pan pop in the oven, you will need to toss these half way through, not essential but you get a better overall roasted flavour if you do.
Next make the chilli corn muffins, grease your muffin tin, pan fry the onions in the coconut oil until soft add the sugar and cook for a further five minutes then add the sweetcorn and chillies and take off the heat, meanwhile in a bowl add the cornflour, salt, pepper, eggs and cheese and mix well together, add the fried onion mix and enough milk to make a wet thick batter, spoon into muffin tins and bake for 16-18 minutes, (theses gorgeous corn muffins are best eaten warm straight from the oven), which by now will be in time with the roasting vegetables finishing.
Place a deep based pan on the hob and fill with the oil, slowly over 15 minutes (while the corn muffins are cooking) heat the oil to around 160 degrees, so that when you are ready to bring everything together you only have to increase the heat a little to bring the temperature upto 180 degrees for cooking the pork, this will only take a few seconds, meanwhile prepare the pork chops by cutting off the fat, reserve this for rendering down to lard (free food), then lay each chop between two sheets of cling film and using a rolling pin bash out as thin as you dare!
On a plate place the flour and season with the salt and pepper, you can add any herbs and spices if you want, mix and dust the pork chops in the seasoned flour and place to one side while you make the country gravy.
In a frying pan melt the coconut oil and lard, pan fry the bacon until medium crispy then add the flour which will make a standard roux, now to add the milk slowly in batches mixing throughly until smooth, you may not need all the milk, I like to my country gravy medium thick in consistency, season to taste with sea salt, white and black pepper, keep warm on a low heat.
Now to cook the country fried pork, bring the pre heated oil up to 180 degrees and gently place in the pork chops to fry, these will take around two-three minutes, using tongs turn over half way through, drain on kitchen paper and bring your meal together and enjoy.
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