Smothered Port à la Maltese

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Smothered Pork à La Maltaise

With thanks to my friend Roger for providing me with this recipe

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One pork chop per person (not too thick and with fat and skin left on)
Potatoes (enough for each serving)
Onions (one large per two servings)
Fennel seeds (about a teaspoon-full per serving)
One bay leaf per chop
Olive oil (to drizzle over the dish – say one tablespoon per serving)
Half a cup of water per serving
Salt and pepper (sea salt and roughly ground pepper is best)
A sheet of oven foil

METHOD
Peel the potatoes and slice or chop them roughly (the pieces should not be too small)
Peel and slice the onions (not too thin)
Wash the chops in cold water and place them in a large baking or roasting dish with a bay leaf under each one
Scatter the onion and potatoes around the meat
Sprinkle the fennel seed over the dish and add the water
Add salt and pepper to taste
Drizzle the olive oil over the dish
Cover the meat (but not the potatoes and onions) by shaping the oven foil roughly to the shape of the meat.

Place the dish in the oven and cook it for about 45 minutes at 200ºC [400ºF], until the water is almost all absorbed, turning the potatoes once if desired.
Remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Let the dish stand in a warm oven or (covered) on a hot plate for ten minutes or so before being served.

Serve onto warm plates with carrots or peas or a side dish of salad

1 July 2004

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