Pork with mustard and cider, mash with leeks, roast sprouts, mushrooms and onions

Dinners have taken a definite wintery turn.  This was easy, and lovely.  Roast sprouts have a sweetness which can be missing in the boiled/steamed versions - try them!

Leeks
Potatoes
Butter
Onions
Mushrooms
Olive oil
Garlic
Sprouts
Pork steaks
Dry cider
Wholegrain mustard
Pork stock cube

1.  Slice and rinse leeks, put into a steamer and steam over the boiling potatoes.
2.  Peel potatoes and cut into chunks, boil in salted water.
3.  Chop onions and mushrooms and toss in olive oil, add crushed garlic - roast in an oven dish for about 30 minutes.
4.  Prepare sprouts by removing scruffy outer leaves and toss in olive oil, roast for about 30 minutes.
5.  Mash the potatoes, beat in leeks and butter - put into the oven with everything else.
6.  Fry the pork in a little olive oil, turn and fry on the other side.  Then add a big spoonful of wholegrain mustard, a pork stock cube and half a bottle of dry cider.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.
7.  Serve, scoff …. yum

Pork with apple, mustard and cider - with leeks and beans

Having bought bargain pork loins for yesterday's tea, there were some left over for today - so ringing the changes we went for traditional apple, cider and mustard - and very tasty it was too.  For the non-meat eater I made griddled halloumi with marinated apple wedges.

Potatoes
Butter
Olive oil
Apples
Cider
Grainy mustard
Garlic
Leeks
green beans
white wine
vegetable stock

1.  Peel the potatoes and put them on to boil.
2.  Create a marinade/sauce by mixing olive oil, cider, grainy mustard and crushed garlic.  Cut apples into wedges and leave to stand in the marinade.
3.  Chop and wash leeks, put into a baking dish with a splash of olive oil, a splash of white wine and a cup of vegetable stock.  Put chopped beans on top to steam.  Cover and bake at 180 for about 30 minutes.
4.  Mash potatoes with butter, transfer to an oven dish and bake to brown the top.
5.  Fry the pork a little in olive oil, until the edges start to brown slightly, then add apple wedges and marinade, simmer.  Reserve some apple wedges for the halloumi.
6.  5 minutes before serving griddle the halloumi in a hot griddle alongside the reserved apple wedges.
7.  Serve, scoff

Pork chop, with cider and mustard sauce

Comfort food!  Pork, mash and cabbage - with a few butter beans with fried onions.  Jazzed it up with some cider and mustard gravy - delicious.

Potatoes
Cabbage
Onions
Butter
Olive oil
Pork chops
Flour
Dry cider
Wholegrain mustard
Chicken stock
Cream cheese/cream

1.  Peel potatoes, boil, steam shredded cabbage on top - then mash the potatoes with butter.  Pop in the oven to get a nice crispy brown top.  Keep the cabbage warm.
2.  Chop onions and fry until golden brown, add drained butter beans.
3.  Fry pork chops, in a little olive oil, on each side for a couple of minutes - keep warm while you make the gravy.
4.  Stir a spoonful of flour into the pork pan, deglaze with dry cider.  Add a little chicken stock and a spoonful of grainy mustard.  Stir and simmer as it thickens a little.  Take it off the heat and stir in a small spoonful of cream cheese (or cream).
5.  Serve, scoff

Gammon in a mustard and cider sauce, with purple mash and cumin cabbage and carrots

It messes with your head a little bit does purple mash, but it's just purple potatoes, mashed ... and it's delicious.

The gammon is organic and came with the veg box - and was really good.

So, ...

Potatoes (they don't have to be purple!)
Olive oil
Onion
Grainy mustard
Cider
Cumin
Carrots
Cabbage
Bouillon powder (well, stock of any sort really)
Gammon
Butter

1.  Peel potatoes, chop into chunks and boil in salted water.
2.  Peel and chop onion, sautee in olive oil.
3.  Add a spoon of mustard to the onions, and about 1/2 pint cider.  Simmer.
4.  In another pan, heat a little olive oil and add a teaspoon of cumin seeds.
5.  Peel and slice carrots, shred cabbage.  Add to cumin and oil, and mix around.  Add half a cup of water, put a lid on and cook on a medium heat for about 12 minutes.
6.  When the potatoes are done, drain, add a good knob on butter and mash.  Put in a hottish oven to keep warm and/or if you have long enough get a crunchy crust on top.
7.  Add the gammon to the cider sauce, lid on simmer for about 5 minutes, turn over, and do the other side for 5 minutes or so.

Should all be done ... serve and scoff.

The veggie option was grilled haloumi with the onion sauce - removed before the meat was added.  Also delicious.