Pork and pear pasta with apple cream sauce

Recipe : Pork and pear pasta with apple cream sauce

(As The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would say: Don't panic. Yes, there's a lot of ingredients but mostly they get thrown in the oven and roast while you do something else).  

1 pork loin

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp butter

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced into very thin slivers

1 red onion, cut into slices

1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thin rings

1 pear, cored, seeded and cut into chunks

6 mushrooms, halved

a handful of broccoli florets, separated

1 small bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks

1/2 cup apple juice

1/4 cup chicken stock

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup cream

salt and pepper

pasta for two, (I used wholewheat penne)

a large handful or two of grated cheese

 

Heat the oven to 375oF. Trim away all fat and sinew from the pork and make little slits all over with the tip of a sharp knife. Push a sliver of garlic into each hole and place the pork into a baking dish. Place the onion, carrot, pear, mushrooms and bell pepper around the pork, drizzle everything with the oil, dot with the butter, season well and bake for around 30 - 35 minutes until the pork is cooked and the vegetables are soft and golden at the edges. Remove the pork to a dish and cover, (Don't throw away the juices in the pan, you need them for the sauce). Let rest while you remove the vegetables and drain on kitchen towel. Set everything aside while you make the sauce.

Heat the apple juice and chicken stock together in a pan over medium heat until they are reduced by about one third. Add the mustard, cream and pork juices and reduce the temperature to low. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste and season if you want.

For meal number one, simply carve half the pork into slices and arrange on a plate. Place half the roasted vegetables on the side and serve with half the sauce poured over. (You can add some potatoes to the roasting pan at the beginning if you want to make the meal more substantial, but they will need an extra 30 minutes or so cooking time). 

For meal number two, (the one this post is really about), boil your penne until al dente and drain well. Throw into a baking dish. Thinly slice your remaining half pork and vegetables and throw onto the penne, mixing well. Boil the broccoli for about 7 minutes in a large pan of boiling salted water, drain and then add them to the mix. Pour the remaining sauce over everything, mix well again and then top with the handfuls of grated cheese. Grill, (broil), until everything is heated through and the top is golden brown. True Autumnal fare.