Pork Chops with Apricots, Honey & Sherry Vinegar
Serves 4
   6 fresh ripe apricots
   A little olive oil
   4 thick pork chops, bone in and untrimmed
   A knob of butter
   8 sage leaves
   1 tablespoon runny honey
   A dash of sherry vinegar

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Cut the apricots in half and remove the stones, then cut into quarters.
   Put a heavy frying pan over a high heat and, when hot, pour in a film of olive oil. Put in the chops, colour well on both sides, then sit them on to their back edge so the fat can colour and crisp up. Transfer them to the oven for about 10 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and tender, or to the point you want it. If you feel like cooking the chops longer, do it: cooking is about what you want, all I’m asking is that you don’t cook every bit of moisture out so the meat is stringy and dry.
   Strain the pan juices and reserve them, then allow the meat to rest in the pan in a warm place for about 5 minutes — it doesn’t need the same resting time as a piece of beef, and also I like my pork to be served really piping hot and crispy.
   While the pork is cooking and resting, quickly sauté the apricots: put the knob of butter into a large frying pan over a medium heat and, when it is hot, add the sage and apricots and sauté briefly until the apricots take on a tiny hint of colour.
   Drizzle over the honey and sprinkle with the sherry vinegar, just a drip at a time. Taste it to check the balance of sweet and sour as you go: the vinegar is there just to give the apricots an aromatic edge, not to make them aggressively sour. Don’t be afraid to put in a spoonful of water to dilute it, or another spoonful of sugar if you need to sweeten it up to the taste you want. Add some salt and pepper if needed. Toss together and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Place a chop on each of 4 warmed plates, spoon the apricots alongside and drizzle over the juices from the pork.

From: The Clatter of Forks and Spoons. By Richard Corrigan. Published by HarperCollins.
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