Happy St. Patrick's Day! Are you wearing your green today? If not, maybe you can eat green today! It's Easy Being Green Week over at I Heart Cooking Clubs and everyone is eating green. Some of us have cooked up some truly green dishes, others had to satisfy those deep dark mustard cravings and just threw some green on the plate for good measure;D
Yep, that would be me! I kinda cheated this week because I have been wanting to make Nigella's Mustard Pork Chops for a super duper long time. The problem: mustard pork chops are not green! Well, I don't know about you, but I can rationalize just about anything when I want to. I found some perfectly green spinach in my refrigerator and called it a day. One fairly green dinner on the table in less than a half hour, perfect for satisfying your mustard cravings. What? You don't crave mustard? Sorry to hear that! I can put mustard on anything (or so I thought).
Nigella's Mustard Pork Chops
Adapted from Nigella Express
2 pork chops (about 1 pound total)
2 teaspoons oil
1/2 hard cider (couldn't find this so I used apple cider)
1 tablespoon grain mustard
1/3 cup heavy cream (I used fat-free half and half)
Cut the fat or rind off the chops, and then bash them briefly but brutally with a rolling pin between 2 pieces of cling film/plastic wrap to make them thinner.
Heat the oil in a pan, and then cook the chops over a moderately-high heat for about 5 minutes a side. Remove them to a warmed plate.
Pour the cider into the pan, still over the heat, to deglaze the pan. Let it bubble away for a minute or so then add the mustard and stir in the cream.
Let the sauce continue cooking for a few minutes before pouring over each plated pork chop. If you're having gnocchi with, make sure you turn them in the pan to absorb any spare juices before adding them to your plates.
Notes/Results: This was the first recipe I bookmarked when I received my copy of Nigella Express. The funny thing is that I received the book at least a year ago and never got around to making these mustard chops. I kept hunting for hard cider and after a year or so of looking, I finally gave up. I decided to go ahead and substitute apple cider for the hard cider. I feel like a Negative Nelly lately, but I have to say that I really didn't care for this recipe. The pork and mustard sauce were okay, but not great. I took Nigella's advice and tossed the potato gnocchi in the mustard sauce and it was definitely not a great combination, if you know what I mean. I ate both the pork chops and spinach in mustard sauce, but thought the gnocchi and mustard sauce was pretty inedible. Maybe it was my fault for substituting apple cider for hard cider and substituting fat-free half and half for heavy cream.
What do you think? Have you ever had hard cider? If so, what does it taste like? Is there a substitute for hard cider? Also, have you used fat-free half and half as a substitute for cream with good results? Just curious.
Head on over to I Heart Cooking Clubs to see all things green this week!
Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!! I'm making mustard pork chops this week as well:)
ReplyDeleteI love this recipe (with tweaks) and that Nigella cookbook though I admit to changing most of the recipes. For this recipe, I have used white wine for the hard cider, beer, and even chicken stock with a splash of vinegar. All were pretty tasty. Hard cider is just fermented apple juice. Food and Wine did an article on it last year and suggested some brands but they're not super easy to find in my experience.
ReplyDeleteThat said, you can't sub fat free half and half in my opinion. It won't thicken and round out the flavors of the mustard and cider as well as full fat. My only other tweak is to stir in a little honey at the end to further tone down the sharpness. And I agree with you - I don't care for the sauce over gnocchi - just the meat.
Happy St. Pat's Day - I don't know - I adore mustard sauces! Am going to give it a whirl.
ReplyDeleteHappy Saint Patty's day! :) The porkchop looks delish!
ReplyDeleteI love mustard too, especially grainy mustard. I had hard cider once--a very long time ago, so I don't remember what it tastes like. The word crisp comes to mind. But that's not a taste, so I'm no help at all.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about the "Negative Nelly" stuff--I'd rather read an honest opinion of a recipe!
Kim, I love that delicious mustard sauce! I bet it adds just the right touch to your fabulous dinner.
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Patrick's Day!
Kim, I think that you might have liked it better with hard cider. It would have been less sweet. Miss M&P above suggested substituting white wine instead, and that might also be a good solution; maybe even a mix of the two.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine mustard and gnocchi. Hmmm...
Thanks for the recipe and for the frank evaluation. It's important, I think to say when we DON'T like things too. Keeps others from going down that road...
happy st patrick's day! I crave mustard all THE TIME AND CAN PUT IT ON ANYTHING..:)
ReplyDeletethe pork chops loook awesome :)
I tried this recipe quite a while back and found that the sauce paired better with chicken than it did with pork. I used apple juice so that the mustard shined through a bit more, but that was just my preference. I never could find the hard cider either!
ReplyDeleteThey sure looked pretty even if they didn't taste that great. I've made quite a few duds lately myself and it's so disappointing every time. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
ReplyDeleteHard cider is actually my favorite kind of beer-like alcohol! It is absolutely delicious. It tastes kind of like a cross between apple cider and sparkling wine. Almost like a soda. You can't tell that it's alcoholic at all. It's just heavenly. I'm sorry this wasn't that good...I guess Nigella can't get it right every time!
ReplyDeleteWell, it looks and sounds good to me!
ReplyDeleteThis sure looks good! And mustard, cream and apple cider sound good to me. Sorry you weren't happy with it. (I have no idea what hard cider is - I probably would of done the same).
ReplyDeleteOooh they look so good... and creamy :) Yummy!
ReplyDeleteYou know you are asking the wrong guy for dairy substitutions. My rule of thumb is if a recipe calls for milk, use 1/2 and 1/2. If it calls for half and half, use cream.
ReplyDeleteSorry you didn't like it but you still rock my socks;)
So sorry it didn't work out the way you would have liked. Hard cider is a bit like.. a cross between sparkling wine, light beer, and apple cider. And there is a big leap from cream to fat free half and half. Wait, what the heck would fat free half and half be made out of?
ReplyDeleteI guess it isn't easy to put Nigella on a diet. ;-)
I've made this dish and LOVED it! I truly think this is one of Nigella's best recipes! I used apple cider in place of the hard cider.
ReplyDeleteHoney mustard chicken is a weekly ritual at our house, I should try your pork chops for a nice twist! I bet it would be a hit! Happy St. Paddy's Day!
ReplyDeleteSorry you were disappointed. I use white wine in my mustard sauce and I put it on chicken, beef and pork. I'm not sure about putting it on gnocchi, that would be better with brown butter and Parmesan cheese.
ReplyDeleteMimi
I'm sorry to hear you were disappointed. I find I'm often disappointed with Nigella's recipes ;(
ReplyDeleteBummer--it looks wonderful. I think you would have liked it better with the hard cider. I have been able to find it in one or two places here and it is less sweet and would add more complexity to the sauce. Believe it or not, I have never tried fat free 1/2 & 1/2 so can't comment on that aspect. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love the magic that mustard produces in a dish. Hope you had a Happy St. Patrick's day. When you get a chance, stop by my kitchen. I have something for you.
ReplyDeleteSam
I agree that you probably would have loved it with the hard cider Nigella refers to. It is sold as an alcoholic beverage and not a vinegar. And no, you can't put Nigella on a diet, LOL. I have found that if you follow her recipes exactly that you will not be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteOutstanding recipes! your food is simply fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
not heard of hard cider just regular, looks delish i am going to make pork chops today but no cider sob sob
ReplyDeleteThis sounds wonderful, but the best part is finding that it's a recipe written for smaller families. There are simply not enough of those on the net. Your meal looks terrific.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even sure what hard cider is to be honest. It sounded like it had potential, and looks great!
ReplyDeleteI had a hard time finding hard cider a while back and discovered it in the beer and wine section of my store. It is delicious though and cooks well with pork. Your dish looks beautiful and very tasty. My best friend loves pork, I will surprise her with this! Great post, I'll be back again and again! ~LeslieMichele
ReplyDeleteI love hard cider! The best brand out there in my opinion is Woodchuck, I have a different brand in the fridge because my local grocer in his ever present wisdom has discontinued Woodchuck. Hard cider to me is the mix of apple juice and a pale ale. I love it and here in Missouri you find it in with the beer. I am not sure about the gnocchi and the mustard, but we put dried mustard in our mashed potatoes and love that flavor, but I'll lean to your expertise in this matter. Thanks for sharing, I appreciate other peoples opinions when looking at a new recipe.
ReplyDeleteLong before I saw Nigella's recipe with cream and cider I created a dish using pork chops and gnocchi which some of you might prefer...
ReplyDeletebrown both sides of your pork chops and set aside.
Throw in white onions (as much as you like) and cook them in the fat/juices from the chops.
When they are softened stir in a big spoon of grain mustard and twice as much cooked apple (i use a chunky apple sauce from a jar)
Pour in some stock, vegetable or chicken work best and let it reduce a bit before putting the chops back in
cook through until pork chops are done and sauce has thickened
cook gnocchi and serve with the chops..pour sauce over both. yummy!