This Pork & Apple Casserole is a warm comforting dinner on the table that lifts everyone's spirits and guarantees clear plates all around.

Free printable recipe is available on our site here: https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/crea...

Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500g (1/1 lbs) pork shoulder steaks - chopped into large chunks
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 medium onion - peeled and chopped
• 8 mushrooms, sliced (I like chestnut mushrooms, but any medium sized mushroom will do – or swap for 12-14 button mushrooms)
• 2 cloves of garlic - peeled and crushed
• 240ml (1 cup) dry cider
• 420ml (1 ¾ cups) chicken or vegetable stock – water plus 2 stock cubes is fine
• ½ tsp dried sage
• 80ml (1/3 cup) double (heavy) cream
• 2 dessert apples - sliced into wedges (not too thin or they'll disintegrate) - I use Jazz apples
• Fresh sage leaves to serve
• Fresh thinly sliced apple to serve

Serve with roasted radishes, broccoli and mashed potato

Process:
• Preheat your oven to 170c/325f (fan)
• In a flame-proof casserole dish, heat up the oil and add the pork, salt and pepper. Cook on high heat, turning a few times for 5-6 minutes to seal the meat.
• Add the onions and mushrooms, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every so often until the onions soften.
• Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
• Add in the cider, stock and dried sage.
• Stir and bring to the boil, place a lid on and place in the oven for 90 minutes. Check on it every so often to give it a stir and make sure it's not going dry. If it is, just add in a splash of water.
• Once the pork has been in the oven for 90 minutes, take it out and stir in the cream and apple slices.
• Place the lid back on and place back in the oven for 25 minutes until the apples are tender.
• Serve with green veg, mashed potatoes or roast potatoes.
• I like to top my casserole with sage leaves, thinly sliced apple and a grind of black pepper.

Can I freeze it?
Yes - make the casserole, then cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat as per the make-ahead instructions above.

Can I make it in the slow cooker?
Yes - cook in a large frying pan right up until it's ready to go in the oven, then instead of cooking in the oven, transfer to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 hours. After this time, add in the sliced apples and cook for a further hour (for high or low heat setting). Stir in the cream right before serving.

If you don't want to mess around with adding apples in the last hour of cooking, you can add them as soon as you add everything to the slow cooker. The apples will be softer and may fall apart a little, but it's a little simpler and easier and will still taste great. The total cooking time in the slow cooker will be 4 hours on a high heat and 6 hours on low heat. I'd also serve with a very thinly sliced apple for garnish too - so you have a bit of crunch and good apple flavour in there.


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