Recipe: Pork chops with Dijon pomme purée

Ingredients

4 x 300g French trimmed pork chops (thick cut, most butcheries will do this for you)

Brine
1 cup salt
¾ cup sugar
1 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
2 tbsp juniper berries
½ tsp whole cloves
¼ cup fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
12 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
8 cups water

Method

1. Mix all of the brine ingredients together in a nonreactive (stainless steel) pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir the brine to ensure that the salt, sugar, and maple syrup have dissolved.

2. Let the brine cool, then put it in a large nonreactive container and add the pork chops. Cover and refrigerate for no more than 12 hours. Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry (without rinsing). Set aside.

3. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare a hot griddle pan. Season the chops with pepper (not salt — remember, the brine is salty) and brush with oil. Sear the chops directly over the hottest part of the open grill for about 1½ minutes on each side.

4. Move the chops to the preheated oven covered with foil. Cook until you’ve reached the desired temperature. A reading of 145°C to 150°C will give you a pink, moist chop, 160°C is well done.

5. Serve immediately, accompanied the pomme pureé. Garnish with deep fried rosemary and thyme sprigs.

Purée
1 ½ cups double cream
1 tsp nutmeg
2 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the double cream, bay leaf, nutmeg and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce the cream by one fourth. This should take 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Season lightly with salt to taste. Strain the cream through a sieve into a small saucepot to keep warm. Smash the garlic into the sieve to expel as much flavour as possible.

Potatoes
1kg potatoes, diced
1 tbsp salt and pepper

Method

1. Pour the potatoes into a medium saucepot. Add enough cold water to completely submerge the potatoes. Add 1 tablespoon of salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Taste the water to check the salt level. If it isn’t seasoned enough, add more salt little by little until reaching your desired seasoning.

2. Turn heat down to medium-low and bring to simmer. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, or until a diced potato can easily be smashed. Be sure not to let the water come back to a boil or you will end up with watery mushy potatoes.

3. Pour the cooked potatoes into a strainer and allow to drain for 30 seconds, then add back into the saucepot. Cover and bring to medium heat to let the potatoes steam for 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Scoop cooked potatoes into a ricer and press over a medium-sized bowl. Repeat until all the potatoes have passed through the ricer. Slowly fold a third of the infused cream into the riced potatoes with a rubber spatula.

5. Lightly whip the potatoes and add another third of the infused cream. Fold in a few knobs of butter at a time until all of it is incorporated.

6. Whip the potato mixture and taste for seasoning. Add more salt and/or infused cream if needed. This purée should be aerated, light, fluffy, and able to run off the side of a spoon or rubber spatula.

Recipe supplied by Van Der Linde restaurant’s executive chef Amori Burger.

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