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Iberico pork with stir-fried vegetables, crispy potato skins, sweet and sour plum and spring onions

by Phil Howard
  1. Iberico pork with stir-fried vegetables, crispy potato skins, sweet and sour plum and spring onions
Item 1 of 1
  • Main
  • medium
  • 4
  • 2 hours 25 minutes
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A magnificent Iberico pork chop is propped up by some very tasty accompaniments in this delicious recipe from Phil Howard. A rich pork sauce, sweet and sour plum sauce, stir-fried vegetables and crispy potato skins all come together to create something that's light, fresh and full of flavour.

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Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

  • 4 pork chops, ideally Iberico pork
  • 50ml of vegetable oil

Sauce

Sweet and sour plum sauce

  • 4 plums
  • 50g of caster sugar
  • 1 tsp Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar

Stir-fried vegetables

To serve

SAVE RECIPE

Method

1
Begin with the sauce. Place a heavy saucepan over a high heat. Add the vegetable oil and, once smoking hot, add the pork trimmings or bones and sauté for around 5 minutes, or until they are a rich golden colour
2
Add the shallot, star anise, garlic cloves and orange peel and continue to sauté, stirring frequently, until the shallots are lightly coloured. Add a pinch of salt and the vinegar and cook until completely reduced
3
Next add the cider and reduce until glazed onto the shallots. Add the stock, bring to the boil and cook at a bare simmer for an hour – topping up with water now and then – so the level does not reduce
  • 200ml of dry cider
  • 500ml of brown chicken stock
4
Meanwhile, preheat an oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas mark 3. Prepare the potato skins by washing the potatoes, then season them with salt, prick with a fork and bake for 90 minutes or until thoroughly cooked
5
Once the sauce has been cooking for 1 hour, pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan and reduce until you have about 4 tablespoons left. Season with salt and add a drop of vinegar if it seems at all flat
6
After 90 minutes, cut the potatoes in half and scoop out most of the flesh (reserve this for another use, such as fish cakes). Brush the potato skins inside and out with the light olive oil. Turn the oven up to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4 and bake until they are just golden and crisp on the outside, but still with some softness within (roughly 10 minutes). Remove from the oven and set aside
  • light olive oil, for brushing and cooking
7
Cut the tops off the banana shallots and peel, keeping the root intact but removing any straggling roots. Quarter each shallot lengthways, brush with a little olive oil and place in a roasting tin. Season with a little salt then roast for around 20 minutes, or until completely caramelised. Keep warm until ready to serve
8
For the sweet and sour plum sauce, cut the plums in half and remove the stone. Place the sugar into a pan with a splash of water, sit over a high heat and cook to a golden caramel. Add the plums and cook until they have broken down into a pulp. Add the vinegar, cook for a further minute, transfer to a small blender and blend to a smooth purée. Set aside
  • 4 plums
  • 50g of caster sugar
  • 1 tsp Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
9
Next, prepare the vegetables for stir frying. Peel the carrot and celeriac and cut into a fine julienne (matchsticks). Peel the onion, cut in half and finely slice. Split the leek lengthways, wash carefully to remove and grit and finely slice. Remove the thick rib from the cabbage leaves, lay one on top of the other, roll them up and finely slice. Mix the vegetables together and add the orange, star anise, garlic and chilli. Set aside for later
10
For the pork, turn the oven down to 130°C/110°C fan/gas mark ½. Place a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat with the oil and allow it to get hot
  • 50ml of vegetable oil
11
Season the pork chops and sit them upright in the pan, fat-side down, to allow the fat to render and colour. Once this has happened, turn the heat up high and colour the chops on both flat sides. Place into the oven for 8 or so minutes, or until the pork is cooked medium – still with just a little pinkness. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes
12
Whilst the pork chops are cooking, prepare the spring onions. Remove the green part and finely slice, then set aside for garnish. Cut the whites of the spring onions in half lengthways, drizzle with a little olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Place a griddle or heavy-based pan over a high heat and allow to get hot. Throw on the spring onions and allow to briefly blacken
13
At the same time, place a large sauté pan, or wok, over a high heat and allow to get hot. Add the olive oil and follow immediately with the vegetables. Season with salt and cook, stirring constantly, until they have wilted. Cover with a lid and continue to cook for a few minutes longer until the vegetables are just tender
14
Blanch the hispi cabbage leaves in a large pan of generously salted boiling water for 1 minute, then drain
15
Once rested, carve the bone off the pork and cut each chop into 5 or so slices
16
To serve, place a neat pile of stir-fried vegetables towards the top of 4 warmed plates. Place the shallots into the potato skins and sit this on top of the vegetables. Place a small amount of the plum purée onto the plate, followed by the hipsi cabbage leaves. Sit the pork on top of the leaves and finish the dish by spooning the hot sauce over the pork and garnishing with the spring onion
First published in 2020
Phil Howard

Phil Howard has always been a ‘chef’s chef’, quietly notching up years of service and influencing the industry immeasurably. After selling his iconic two Michelin-starred restaurant The Square to open Elystan Street in Chelsea, he has proved himself yet again to be one of the UK's brightest culinary talents.

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