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Pork chop, cabbage and apples

Succulent, golden pork chops sit alongside tender cabbage and soft apple slices, all brought together with a rich crème fraîche and wholegrain mustard sauce. Every forkful delivers that timeless pairing of sweet fruit and savoury pork, finished with a fragrant tarragon butter — all ready in under thirty minutes.

Prep: less than 30 mins
Cook: 10 to 30 mins
Serves: Serves 2
Dietary: Egg-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free
Pork chop, cabbage and applesBy Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen Recipes

Nutri-Score E

This pork chop, cabbage and apples dish receives a Nutri-Score of E due to the high saturated fat content from the generous amount of butter and crème fraîche combined with very low fibre.
Per serving (approximate): 1090 kcal, 85g fat (of which 50g saturates), 30g carbohydrates, 15g sugars, 2.5g fibre, and 25g protein.

Equipment

Ingredients

For the pork chops

  • 75g/2½oz unsalted butter
  • 50ml/2fl oz Madeira
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
  • 2 pork chops, on the bone, rind scored
  • 2 tarragon sprigs

For the cabbage and apples

  • 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
  • 2 apples, such as Braeburn, cored and sliced
  • 1 spring or Savoy cabbage, each leaf cut, stem removed and quartered
  • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • 1 tbsp sweet white wine vinegar
  • 200g/7oz crème fraîche

Customise

  • Swap pork chops for thick chicken breasts if you prefer poultry, adjusting the cooking time slightly
  • Replace crème fraîche with soured cream for a slightly sharper, tangier sauce
  • Use Cox apples instead of Braeburn for a deeper, more complex apple flavour
  • Swap wholegrain mustard for Dijon mustard if you prefer a smoother, less textured heat
  • Replace Madeira with dry sherry for a nuttier, equally rich deglazing liquid
  • Swap tarragon for thyme sprigs if tarragon is not your thing — thyme pairs beautifully with pork too

Method

Cook the Pork Chops (15 mins — start the cabbage water at the same time to overlap)

  1. Preheat the oven — Get your oven up to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7 so it is roaring hot and ready to finish off the chops. A hot oven helps the rind crackle up beautifully while the meat stays juicy inside.
  2. Sear the chops — Set a large ovenproof frying pan over a high heat and add half the butter. Once it is foaming, lay in the pork chops along with the smashed garlic clove and pour in the Madeira. Let the chops cook on both sides until they are deeply golden brown — this should take about 3 to 4 minutes per side. The Madeira will bubble and reduce, creating a lovely savoury base for the sauce.
  3. Add tarragon and roast — Drop the remaining butter and the tarragon sprigs into the pan, then transfer the whole thing straight into the hot oven. Roast for 6 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness of your pork chops — thicker ones will need the full time, while thinner ones might be done sooner.
  4. Rest and baste — Lift the pan out of the oven and move the pork chops to a warm plate. Let them rest for at least 5 minutes, and while they sit there, spoon that gorgeous tarragon butter from the pan over the chops every now and then. Resting is not optional here — it lets the juices settle back into the meat so every bite stays moist rather than running out onto the plate the moment you cut in.

Prepare the Cabbage and Apples (10 mins — boiling and sautéing can happen while the pork roasts)

  1. Boil the cabbage — While the pork chops are in the oven, bring a large saucepan of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Drop in the prepared cabbage leaves and blanch them for just 1 to 2 minutes until they are tender but still have a bit of bite. Drain them well — give the colander a good shake to remove as much water as possible so it does not water down your sauce later.
  2. Cook the apples — In the same saucepan or a clean pan, melt the 50g of butter over a medium heat and add the sliced apples. Let them cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until they are just soft and starting to turn golden but are not falling apart. You want them to hold their shape so they look lovely on the plate alongside the pork chop, cabbage and apples.
  3. Build the sauce — Add the blanched cabbage to the softened apples and stir through the wholegrain mustard and sweet white wine vinegar. Let everything warm through together for a minute so the mustard and vinegar evenly coat the leaves and the vinegar sharpness mellows slightly.
  4. Add the crème fraîche — Turn the heat down low and fold in the crème fraîche, stirring gently until you have a silky, creamy sauce that clings to the cabbage and apples. Taste it and add a little more salt or a drop more vinegar if you think it needs it — you want a balance between the richness of the cream and the sharpness of the mustard and vinegar.

Serve (2 mins)

  1. Plate up — Transfer the rested pork chops to a warm serving plate and spoon the creamy cabbage and apples alongside. Pour any resting juices from the pork over the top for an extra layer of flavour, and serve this pork chop, cabbage and apples dish straight away while everything is piping hot.

Additional Notes

Make sure you score the pork rind in parallel lines about 1cm apart before cooking — this helps the fat render out and gives you that satisfying crackling texture. If your pork chops have particularly thick rind, you can start them in a cold pan and bring the heat up slowly to help the fat underneath render before the rind crisps, then turn up the heat to colour the meat. This pork chop, cabbage and apples recipe is wonderfully forgiving, so do not worry if your timing is not perfect — the crème fraîche sauce will happily sit on a very low heat for a few minutes while you finish resting the meat.

 

 

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