Spanish pork and apple cream

I’ve been missing in action again this month as we’ve been on a campervan jaunt down to the Basque and Rioja regions of Spain. I was hoping to develop a few more recipes for the Campervan Cookbook, but the wide availability of tapas meant that the amount of cooking I did in the ‘van was somewhat limited. One old favourite that came back to mind was Spanish pork with apple cream. I don’t know why but this seems to be a dish that I only cook when we are in Spain. Perhaps it’s because this particular cut of pork – thin, filet slices – is good value and in virtually every supermarket, although I have seen it here in France. We very rarely eat pork, with the exception of lardons and jambon or chorizo (although I’m not always sure about the actual ingredients of chorizo), but the fried apple slices and a good dash of mustard enhance the usual ‘meat and two veg’ style that we tend to avoid.

 

 

 

I usually try to work out a rough menu plan, to avoid waste, by pairing meals with the same ingredients over a couple of days. This can be a good recipe for using up half a tub of crème fraiche or half a tin of potatoes, or some white wine left over from a risotto – if you haven’t drunk it, of course! There’s often an apple lurking in the campervan fruit bowl, so the only extra ingredient is the pork slices. I serve the dish with fried potatoes and some long French green beans, although in the photo we had a green salad as the lettuce needed to be eaten.

 

 

Spanish pork with apple cream

Serves: two

Saucepans: one plus one for heating beans

Store cupboard items: 4 │ Fridge items: 1 │ Fresh: 2

400g tin of new potatoes

Small tin of French thin green beans

Salt and black pepper

Small glass of white wine

1 to 2 tablespoons crème fraiche

An apple (usually in the fruit bowl)

Pork filet slices

 

1.       With a bit of juggling it’s quite possible to cook this dish using only one pan, either a skillet or a largish frying pan. Start with a bit of prep – peel and core the apple, then slice into thin circles or half-moons, and cut the potatoes into chunks.

2.       Heat some oil in a non-stick pan and fry the apple slices until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside on plate (on kitchen roll if you’re feeling healthy and want to drain some of the oil).

3.       Next, add the potatoes to the same pan and fry until golden. You might need to add a bit more oil and keep turning the potatoes until they are cooked on all sides. Set these aside with the apple slices.

4.       Place the pork slices in the pan and fry on both sides until cooked and golden. Depending on the size of the pan it might be necessary to do this in two batches.

5.       Deglaze the pan with a small glass of white wine (this also removes any greasy bits and helps with washing up). Give the pan a good scrape with the wooden spoon to remove all the meat juices and simmer the stock to reduce to about a third.

6.       Stir in a good tablespoon of crème fraiche and heat through. Sometimes I add a good dash of mustard at this stage, together with salt and pepper to taste.

7.       Arrange the pork slices on plate and top with the fried apple rings. Serve with fried potatoes, green beans and the cream sauce.