Pork and Potato Bake

I didn't do many posts on my "other" blog, but this one was popular enough for me to transfer it over here to the Bungalow Blues. One stressed and busy day, my WhatsApp pinged and it was a message from a friend telling me she was making this for her families tea, following up with a picture of the finished dish, it really made my day!

Before I get to that, this week while early morning stepping I caught up with Flesh & Blood (ITV  but not still on the Hub). The cast list is great, so I'm not sure why we didn't watch it back in March.

It's about a widow (Francesca Annis), with a needy neighbour and 3 issue ridden adult children. She meets a doctor, Mark, on a dating app and surprises everyone by embarking on a whirlwind romance. Everyone else distrusts Mark (Stephen Rea), he is difficult to like, awkward and unsociable, but because they believe he killed his first wife.

Mary, the neighbour, is brilliantly played by Imelda Staunton. Always flitting around, poking into things and planting seeds of doubt in the minds of the children, pointing out inconsistencies with Mark's story. Russell Tovey is the overbearing, angry, gambling, moralistically dubious son. Claudie Blakley is the self-absorbed daughter, promoted too soon, making mistakes that impact her family. Lydia Leonard is the perpetual mistress.

The series begins at the end, with a tragic "accident". The story is carried along by the questioning of Detective Inspector Lineham (David Bamber), trying to unravel the family and ascertain wither the case is an attempted murder or a just terrible accident. I found the ending pleasing although I did preempt it. It may considered a twist. 

So back to the recipe, the inspired by a highly calorific looking Ham and Gruyere Bake on Saturday kitchen, I set about turning it into something suitable for a midweek staple.

Pork and Potato Bake (serves 4)

I make this in used individual cast iron dishes, but you can use a single larger dish or individual pottery dishes or tins. They need to be greased with the oil/butter of your choice before you start.

Peel 4 large potatoes (baking potatoes are ideal) and cut into 1 cm thick slices, you need enough to top you dish/es. Boil them in salted water until they are a little bit under cooked 5-10 minutes. Drain and set aside

Griddle 4 pork loin chops (fat on or off as you prefer) seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano and a little garlic salt or crushed fresh garlic for 2 minutes on each side to seal them and give them that griddled taste. Place the chops in the prepared dish/es and add some chopped spinach on top, then crumble 30 g Stilton (120 g in total) over each chop. 

In a pan with a little oil, fry a chopped, sliced onion with 2 chopped lean rashers of bacon, a clove of crushed garlic, a tsp of oregano, a tsp of paprika, a small, sliced courgette and some thinly sliced mushrooms. Add the potato and stir well until the ingredients are all mixed (trying not to breakup the potato too much).

Cover the chops with the potato mix. Top with 120 g grated cheddar (30 g per dish) and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes at 180 C until the cheese is bubbling, the potatoes are golden and the chop is cooked through.

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Serve with the vegetables of your choice. I'm sure a a poached or fried egg on top would be cracking!

• You could easily swap the pork for chicken breasts, but you must make sure you cook it for long enough to ensure the chicken is cooked through
• You could leave out the bacon or swap it for any variety of ham or chorizo
• If courgettes and mushrooms aren’t your thing swap them for something that is, asparagus is lovely roasted as is broccoli or cauliflower but you would need to par boil them first
• Same with the cheese – use what you love.

I really recommend using a meat thermometer for recipes like this, they come with instructions and charts of recommended internal temperatures for different cuts of meat.