Slow Cooked Pork with Sage, Lemon and Olives

Oh lord I love a slow cooked meal.  Pork that literally dissolves in your mouth then leaves a lemony tang with a hint of chilli and then to top it off...... a burst of sweet cherry tomato and a buttery sicilian olive.....and then to top it off even more a crispy sage leaf and a creamy dollop of sweet parsnip and potato mash.  I think I have to stop there because to really top it off, I am dribbling.

Serves 4

2 tbs of olive oil
1 kg pork scotch fillet cut into four 2.5 inch pieces
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 brown onion, halved and sliced
1 tsp of dried chilli flakes
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 a cup of white wine
11/2 cups of chicken stock
16 sicilian olives
1 bunch of sage leaves, 1/2 finely chopped and 1/2 set aside for garnish
400gm tin of cherry tomatoes
1 cup of yellow and red grape tomatoes (just red is fine)
1 tsp of sugar
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Parsnip and Potato Mash

500gm of cream delight potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
500gm of parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 a cup of milk
40gm of butter
Sea salt and pepper

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.  Heat the oil in a large heavy based casserole dish, season the pork steaks with salt and pepper and brown on both sides, in batches.  When golden, remove and drain on paper towel.

In the same pan lightly fry the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent.  Add the chilli flakes and lemon rind and fry for 1 minute before pouring in the white wine.  Allow to reduce for a couple of minutes then add the lemon juice, stock, tinned tomatoes and the fresh tomatoes.  Stir well and allow to come up to a simmer then pop in the olives, sage and sugar.  Stir and season with salt and pepper before returning the pork to the pan.  Nestle the pork down into the sauce and spoon over the sauce making sure it is all covered.  Tear off a square of baking paper and tuck the pork in, pop a lid or some foil on and bake in the oven for 2.5 hours, basting occasionally.

Boil the potato and parsnip in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender.  Drain and mash then pop back on the heat before adding milk, butter, sea salt and pepper.  Whip with a wooden spoon until thick and creamy.

To crisp up the sage leaves, heat some extra virgin olive oil in a small fry pan (enough to cover the base).  Add the sage leaves a few at a time and spoon the hot oil over them until they curl up and become a deep green in colour.  Drain on paper towel but reserve the olive oil for drizzling as it has a beautiful, subtle sage flavour.

To plate up, divide the parsnip mash between four plates and make a little dip in the centre with the back of your spoon.  Very gently remove each pork steak with an egg flip (they will fall apart if you are not careful) and  place on the mash.  Spoon over the sauce, dividing evenly the olives and tomatoes.  Top with crispy sage leaves and a drizzle of the scented oil.  Enjoy!