Pork chops with spinach-stuffed cauliflower
A decadent dinner for two, pork chops pair beautifully with spinach-stuffed roasted cauliflower.
Ingredients
For the spinach-stuffed cauliflower
- 1 cauliflower, with leaves, core removed
- 25g/1oz butter, plus extra for roasting
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 6 sage leaves
- 100g/3½oz baby spinach
- 1 free-range egg
- olive oil, for roasting
For the pork chops
- 2 thick-cut pork chops
- 60g/2¼oz unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 sage leaves
- 1 lemon, juice only
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the spinach-stuffed cauliflower, blanch the cauliflower in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water for 10 minutes. Reserve the leaves.
Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the shallot, garlic and sage leaves until softened. Add the spinach to wilt. Blend the mixture with a hand blender until smooth, then leave to cool.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the cauliflower leaves until golden and crisp. Keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Stir the egg into the cooled spinach mixture, then pipe into the centre of the cauliflower, squeezing into all the cracks. Coat the cauliflower in a little olive oil and butter. Roast for 1 hour until the cauliflower is golden.
While the cauliflower is roasting, season the pork chops with salt and pepper and score the fat with a sharp knife.
Heat the butter and oil in a hot pan and add the chops. Cook for around 6-8 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep somewhere warm.
Add the sage leaves to the same pan and fry in the remaining fat until crisp. Squeeze in a little lemon juice to taste.
Put the chops on 2 warmed plates, spoon over the sage and lemon oil and serve with the cauliflower and leaves alongside.