Meaty pork chops with cider for when salad just won't do

We rarely buy pork chops, twice a year if that. I always find them quite dry and bland.

Instead, I choose pork belly and cook it with soy sauce and plenty of ginger or roast a loin of pork with crackling for Sunday lunch.

But a pork chop cooked the right way is delicious. It’s the time of year when apples are landing softly on dewy grass, the nights are getting darker and a salad for supper just won’t suffice.

This dish is almost like a casserole, warming and studded with soft fruit. The pork chops are cooked in a little cider with wedges of apple and onion and plenty of herbs.

Sage is meaty and rich while thyme is subtle and sweet with the roast onion. The cooking liquid is reduced a little with some piquant mustard and drizzled over the chops.

I usually serve this with pureed cauliflower, the sweetness of the apple and onion is delicious with brassicas so shredded sautéed cabbage would be nice too. The sauce is divine over fresh tagliatelle or in a cloud of mashed potato.

The cider I love to make this with is Cockagee, a pure Irish-keeved cider made in Slane, Co Meath. It seems a waste to use this champagne cider to cook with but I can justify that by drinking the remaining bottle chilled alongside dinner.

Keeving is quite the art form. It’s an ancient way of making the ultimate style of naturally sparkling cider.

Sediments and impurities are trapped in a gel layer of pectin, it the rises to the surface of the cloudy, fresh-pressed apple juice and is removed.

The apple juice is left clean and clear. It ensures a long, slow fermentation over six to eight months or more.

This results in a sparkling “live” cider that hasn’t been pasteurised or damaged by heat. It retains all of its natural fruit sugars along with an intense apple flavour.

The difference is huge between a keeved cider and one that has been force carbonated. Cider pairs really well with food, particularly pork, and is a great alternative to wine.