Robin Ellis

I promised a recipe for pork chops when I posted the red cabbage.

It is bitingly cold here and I found myself heading for the butcher not the fishmonger in Lautrec this morning.

“Bonjour, Monsieur–deux cotes d’échine, s’il vous plait.”

Spare rib chops are tastier and less prone to dry out than loin chops and they are the cheaper cut.

That’s what I settled for after waiting an age for Monsieur Fraisse to finish chatting to his previous customer–the cold was getting to me!

I learned this simple way by watching the irascible but effective chef Gordon Ramsay’s demonstration.

The rosemary needles take on a nice crunchiness and are worth eating with a mouthful of meat. As is the garlic.

Meredith finished off the red cabbage, which she’d missed out on the other day.

for 2

2 spare rib pork chops

rosemary and thyme

3/4 cloves of garlic–squashed, peeled and halved

olive oil

s&p

heat the oven to 200C/400F

• Dribble some olive oil and sprinkle some salt on a shallow oven tray.
• Scatter over a couple of the cloves of garlic.
• Place the chops on top.
• Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
• Strip the rosemary needles from the stem over the chops.
• Do the same with the thyme (not so easily done).
• Dribble more olive oil over the tray.
• Put it in the higher part of the oven for about twenty minutes.
• The cooking time depends on the thickness of the chops.
• Best to cut into them to check–the juices should run clear.