Mostly Eating

Serves 2
I used chestnut honey, which has a slightly more treacled, bitter flavour than regular honey. With regard to timing, you can poach the quince in advance if you want to (remember to keep the cooking liquor). If you are preparing it all at once, start the quince poaching and then the get the pilaf cooking. Cook the pork when the pilaf has about ten minutes to go and it should all fall into place gracefully.

For the pork with poached quince
2 thick pork chops, without the bone (ask the butcher for double chops)
2 Quince
Juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp honey
1 bay leaf
Small glass of red wine
Hot water

For the courgette pilaf
120g white rice
2 tbsp olive oil
250ml vegetable stock
2 courgettes, cut into dice
2 spring onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Flatleaf parsley, a small handful, finely chopped

Peel the quince and cut it into thick slices, about 1cm thick. Cut away the seeds from each of the quince slices and the woodier, harder part of the flesh (if you can’t see where the texture changes you will be able to tell when you stick the tip of your knife in to the quince).

Put the quince slices into a small saucepan and just cover with hot water. Add the honey, lemon juice and bay leaf. Simmer for about twenty minutes, until the quince is just tender.

Strain the quince, keeping the poaching liquor.

Heat the olive oil in a pan that has a lid. Fry the courgette, spring onion and garlic for about four minutes on a medium heat.

Add the rice and cook it in the oil for another minute.

Add the stock and half of the parsley to the rice and vegetable mixture. Cover with a lid and leave undisturbed at a mere simmer for 15 minutes.

Rub the pork chops with a very light coating of olive oil and season. Cook the chops in a frying pan – they will take about 4 minutes on each side depending on thickness.

Remove the pork chops from the pan and put them somewhere warm to rest. Check the pilaf rice and if it is done cover it with a clean tea towel while you make the sauce.

Turn the heat up on the pan that you cooked the pork in and add the red wine. Let the wine bubble up, using a wooden spoon to loosen all of the good stuff in the bottom of the pan.

Add the poaching liquor from the quince to the pork juices and wine and simmer briskly until the liquid reduces and you start to get sticky syrup.

When everything else is ready stir the remains of the parsley into the pilaf.

Dish the quince slices out onto two plates and top with the pork chops. Spoon the pilaf out alongside the pork. Drizzle the red wine syrup over the pork and around the other ingredients. Enjoy!