Panoramic Perfection

Torta Salata in Padella con Maiale, Mela e Mirtillo Rosso

Pork, Apple & Cranberry Tarte Tatin

Yes indeed- this delicious dish was all put together in one little frying pan. A perfect meal in every way, it has sweet, savory and scrumptious ingredients to make your mouth water and your tummy rumble just looking at it!

Who would believe that you can put this together in just 30 minutes or so? I would for sure- because I just did it this evening and was thrilled with the result! Considering all it took was  the other pork chop from last night, half an apple, a shallot and a couple of teaspoons of preserved cranberries, the result was simply exquisite! I defy you to try this and not love it to pieces!

I started off by dicing the pork and frying it in a hot but dry pan- even a lean pork chop, like this one was, has plenty of fat of its own so that it will cook and brown nicely with no extra fat or oil. Into the pan it went, with a little finely chopped garlic, the shallot in slices and the apple cut into wedges. I used a Granny Smith for this as I wanted something that wasn't too sweet. I seasoned with coarsely ground black pepper, salt, a little mustard, a touch of cinnamon and a little nutmeg.

Once these were all browning gently, I turned on the oven, ready for the pastry. Cutting the pastry to size was the next step- just large enough to cover the pork and apples, which in this case was just the size of a saucer, which I laid on top of the puff pastry and cut around with a sharp knife. I arranged the pork and apple a little so that it wouldn't be stacked too high and laid the pastry down on top of it. Into the oven it went for 5-6 minutes until the pastry was lightly golden brown, at which point, I took it out of the oven, carefully placed the saucer I had used to cut it out with on top of the pastry and then carefully flipped everything over. With a traditional Tarte Tatin, that would be the end of the story- but in this case, I added preserved cranberries and a light drizzle of honey and popped it under the broiler for a last 2-3 minutes- and oh boy, was the combination of meat, fruit and pastry delicious! Yesiree- this is another one that I know you are going to love!