I have a tendency to harp on about certain things and food waste is one of them....there is no excuse for it!....even at home there is no excuse to be dumping food... if the food you buy is ending up in the bin because it has passed it's best then you are either buying too much food or you are not being sensible with what you are buying.
Something can always be made from the bits and bobs lying in the fridge that you are keeping with the best of intentions but you know they will inevitably end up in a landfill site!
But if you take a few moments and have a think about what you could actually do with those leftovers or things nearing the end of their life you may be amazed at the delicious results.
This tasty supper dish involves a few things I had in tubs in the fridge.......the few remaining spoonfuls of Spiced Pear Chutney, recipe HERE! approx 100mls of my homemade pizza topping tomato sauce which is my Cheat's Tomato Sauce recipe HERE! half a punnet of button mushrooms that had begun to turn quite dark, the dregs of a bottle of rose wine, half a tub of creme fraiche and the last onion in the net.
I had already planned to cook pork loin chops and onions for supper to be served with steamed broccoli, along with some mashed potatoes for the kids, but seeing these little bits sitting there all lonesome and begging to be used....well I just couldn't help myself.....I do love experimenting.
If you try to recreate this dish I understand you may not have everything that I put into it, but you can always adapt to suit yourself. The dish ended up with a delicious creamy sauce with a certain sweetness yet spiciness that works well with the pork.
So for this pork dish.........feeds 4
4 boneless pork loin chops
1 medium white onion
100 g mushrooms
1 glass of white or rose wine
3 tablespoons of pear chutney...or you could try ploughman's chutney...something with a little spice
100mls tomato sauce
approx 300 mls water
150 g creme fraiche or a little fresh cream if you like
a little olive oil...not extra virgin
salt and pepper if needed
How to......
- slice the onion and set aside, slice the mushrooms and set aside separately
- heat a large shallow casserole dish (or use a frying pan) and add a little oil
- brown the pork chops on each side, remove from the pan and set aside on a plate or dish
- add a little more oil to the pan if you think it needs it and add the onions frying gently until the begin to get a little brown
- add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another minute
- pour in the wine and bring to the boil for half a minute,
- add the water, chutney and tomato sauce
- place the pork back into the casserole and put a lid on
- you can either cook this on top of the stove or in the oven, about 180oC for 20 minutes until the meat has begun to soften but not so tender that it is falling apart
- remove the pork from the liquid, place in a dish and cover with tin foil to keep warm for a few minutes
- bring the lovely tasty cooking liquid/sauce to the boil on the stove top and let it reduce
- when it looks like it is beginning to thicken, whisk in the creme fraiche and keep reducing until you have a gravy consistency
- taste your sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed
- return the pork chops to the pan so they can heat again and absorb all those delicious flavours
- serve up and enjoy!
As I said before, I served this will some broccoli and some simple mashed potatoes to soak up all that lovely creamy sauce....you could have the pork on it's own too with some chunks of bread for dipping in the gravy.
If you would like some ideas on how to organise your shopping and reduce you food wastage at home then have a look at my supermarket, menu planning & grocery shopping tips HERE!
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