Is anyone else getting great wafts of lockdown 1 nostalgia? Oh, I remember this! This losing time to fretting, this making of lists, this making decisions about what non-essential items I actually do need to get through the next few weeks (mothproofing, Lush shampoo), this endless scrolling through news as if we don't know what's going on.
I also had a very strong memory of this post by Ruth, in which Stew seemed to be a properly grown up, non-freaking out, dinner to make, despite all previous precedent. I seem to have caught that vibe even though as previously noted this second lockdown has slightly caught me by surprise. This week is meat week in my meal planning, and everything is very... sturdy.
This is partly because of the undeniable charms of my German cookbook, whose brief, sturdy, tasty recipes have felt properly calming all summer. Yesterday I went to the market (very grown up) and bought two outdoor-bred quality pork chops (super grown up) that could stun an elephant. And they have been dinners for two nights. I feel all my (yes, study) Wuerttemburgisch ancestors beaming. This is how you adult. (My pescitarian Swedes are horrified, but they can shush for this week.)
You don't need me to tell you how to cook a pork chop, except maybe you do because this recipe was a revelation. I don't usually fry this kind of thing, but a recipe makes it respectable somehow. Season thoroughly with salt and sweet paprika.
A couple of minutes cooking on the side (use tongs, do not set fire to tongs, I managed to do this the second time, oops), to cook the fat, 1-2 mins each side on high, 8 mins on medium, turning occasionally. Then add thyme *and butter* to the pan (god, this is so sturdy and grown up), turn it to low for 2 mins and cook each side gently in the browning butter. You're meant to add garlic at this point, which I did yesterday and forgot today - which just shows how discombobulated life is. Forgetting the garlic. Yikes.
Had this with spinach, and also Himmel und Erde (heaven and earth), aka mashed spuds with stewed apple, and more butter, and nutmeg. I greatly recommend this if you like mash but find it a bit bland - the Bramleys, quickly cooked with a splash of water and very little sugar, give a lovely sharp edge and lift, taking away the richness.
I love the idea of putting the apple into the mash, that's a great idea. And don't fret about setting fire to tongs - I once set fire to a lettuce.... while it was sitting on the counter minding its own business. I seem to vaguely recall a great deal of wine was involved prior to the inferno.
ReplyDeleteI think comfort eating at this time of year is natural, but add in Covid and everything else that is going on in the news and an extra scoop of potato seems like the most obvious thing in the world. I had to weigh myself when filling in the paperwork for my flu jab and just about fell off the scales in shock!