Pork Recipes

Normandy Pork Chops with Apples and Cider

This recipe is adapted from Magi Maehashi’s second cookbook Delicious Tonight. Have you heard of her? Magi is a Japanese-Australian author and creator of the extremely popular RecipeTin Eats food blog. Most of her recipes are quick and accessible and her latest cookbook reached the status of ‘New York Times Best-selling Author.’

This recipe hails from the Normandy region of France, known for its production of apples, cheeses (Camembert), and Calvados apple brandy. France is globally ranked 10th in apple production, so we can enjoy many apple recipes from this area! And let’s not forget that Normandy also holds a special place in ours hearts: Rouen is where Julia Child had her first French meal of Sole Meunière, which was a turning point in her life!

In this recipe, rustic pork chops combine beautifully with a fruity, creamy sauce accented with Dijon mustard and a hint of rosemary. If you can’t find Calvados brandy, any another type of brandy will do. Use a dry, hard apple cider and avoid the overly-sweet apple juice found in supermarkets. Hard apple cider contains alcohol; if you wish to substitute, use unsweetened apple juice. As Nagi says about her recipe, “You’ll be giving it an enthusiastic très bon, I promise!”

(Please refer to my previous post titled Chicken with Calvados, Cider and Apples).

Normandy Pork Chops with Apples and Cider

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Author: Fran Flint
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Scale

1 Honey Crisp or Granny Smith Apple, sliced into 1/4 inch wedges

1 1/2 Tbsps. butter

4 x 8 0z pork chops

salt/pepper to taste

For the Normandy Cider-Cream Sauce:

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

5 Tbsps. Calvados or other brandy

1 1/2cups hard apple cider

1 1/2 cups heavy (thickened) cream

4 tsps. Dijon mustard

salt/pepper to taste

2 tsps dried Rosemary plus 1 Rosemary sprig for decoration

To serve: creamy mashed potatoes

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Instructions

Prepare the apples: core and slice the apple into 1/4- inch pieces. (I left the skin on to add more color to the dish). Melt the butter over medium-high heat and cook the apples for about 5-6 minutes until softened but not floppy. Turn the apples occasionally in the pan. Transfer to a bowl.

Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the same pan and turn the heat up to medium-high. Cook the pork chops about three minutes each side or until surface turns golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and cover with foil.

In the same pan, sauté the red onion slices until softened. Over medium-high heat, add the Calvados (or brandy) and stir, then add the hard cider and continue to stir for several more minutes. Periodically scrape the bottom of the pan (deglaze) in order to incorporate the golden bits into the sauce. Add several tsps. of dried rosemary (if using), thickened cream, Dijon mustard, and salt/pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the sauce reduces slightly and the flavors infuse.

Add the apples and pork chops (including any juices) to the sauce. Cover the pan and let cook for several minutes to warm the pork through. Serve with mashed potatoes and decorate the dish with a sprig of rosemary.