Pork cutlets with apple

October 9, 2008

While roast pork and all the trimmings, including  delicious crispy crackling, can draw us like a magnet, good sense tells us to watch our animal fat intake. Fortunately these days it’s easy to buy pork cuts that have been trimmed of most of their fat.

I like using trimmed pork loin cutlets. They look attractive, are easy to cook and offer good portion control, too.

They can be quickly browned in a pan with a metal handle then finished in the oven. However, I like this easy all-in-one recipe where the pork and apple accompaniment are baked together.

These go well with scalloped potatoes (which can be baked in the oven at the same time) and new season’s asparagus.

Pork cutlets ready for the oven

Pork cutlets with apple

4 trimmed pork loin cutlets
juice and zest from one lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
4 small Granny Smith apples

Mix the lemon juice, zest, olive oil and mustard together in a small bowl. Spoon some on one side of the cutlets and place them coated side down in an ovenproof dish or baking tray. Spoon the remaining marinade on top of the cutlets. Set aside in the refrigerator to marinate for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 220C. Core and quarter the apples and poke them in among the cutlets. Bake for 45 minutes. The juices from the cutlets can be poured into a small saucepan, reduced and poured over the cutlets for serving, if desired.

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