, How to Video, Step by step
Pork chop bake with parsnips, pear, and sage
An easy autumnal all-in-one dish of roasted pork and pear – a delicious flavor combination.
Method
-
Step 1
Pre heat the oven to 180°C or gas mark 4
-
Step 2
Heat approximately half the olive oil in a frying pan.
-
Step 3
Place the pork chops into the frying pan to seal, or until they begin to turn a nice colour. Season with salt and pepper.
-
Step 4
Remove the pork chops from the frying pan and place into an ovenproof dish.
-
Step 5
Using the same frying pan, add the chopped parsnips and sauté for 2 minutes. Now add the baby beetroot quarters and cook for 30 seconds.
-
Step 6
Finally, add the pear quarters to the sauté vegetables and cook for a further 2 minutes.
-
Step 7
Place the sauté vegetables and pear quarters into the baking dish with the pork chops.
-
Step 8
Add the sage leaves and drizzle over the remaining olive oil.
-
Step 9
Drizzle the honey and the aged balsamic vinegar over all the ingredients and place into the oven for approx. 30 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.
-
Step 10
Remove the baking dish from the oven and garnish with the parsley leaves. Serve straight from the dish.
Nutrition
All three of the delicious and nutritious plant ingredients in Mark’s recipe this month – parsnips, beetroot, and pears, have a long history of use in this country.
Beetroot was originally grown from the root of a wild plant, the sea beet, and it still grows wild along the seashore in some parts of the UK. It became particularly popular in the Victorian era.
Parsnips are members of the parsley family and also originated from roots that still grow wild in the UK. They were used to sweeten food in medieval times before the introduction of cane and beet sugar.
Pears were introduced here by the Romans and are referred to in the Domesday Book, where it is said that pear trees were used as boundary markers, although only cooking pears were grown here until the 16th century.
They all contribute important nutrients and fibre. Both beetroot and parsnips are especially rich in potassium and provide iron. Beetroot is also quite rich in the B vitamin folate, and the pigments that provide its colour, betocyanins, act as protective antioxidants in the body. The parsnips and pears both provide some vitamin C.
Each portion of this great dish should provide between three to four portions of your 5 A Day!
You may also enjoy
Cook our delicious recipes for yourself
