My favourite maple syrup recipes is oh-so-simple. Place large Bramley apples cored and in a dish and drizzle over a tablespoon of maple syrup per apple with 4 tablespoons of water. Bake until softened and caramelised at 180°C – 20 to thirty minutes.
I naturally think of of sweet dishes when using maple syrup as an ingredient. Indeed, at Christmas time, I was introduced to the Festive Maple Wreath site created by the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers in Canada. It’s such fun, take your pick of ingredients and your personalised maple wreath is displayed. The photography is so beautiful.
If you want to make the most delicious, moist cake ever, follow the instructions for the maple marzipan cake. I served it with some raspberry maple jam. Truly delicious.
Such a simple dish – great pork, maple and smoked paprika
Marvelous Maple Pork Chops
However, it is not all about sweet dishes. I was lucky enough to be sent some samples from the Federation. I was intrigued to discover that there are four different grades of maple syrup: Extra Light, Light, Medium and Amber. At the start of the harvesting process, extra light syrup is produced, finishing with the Amber at the end of harvesting time. With a bit of searching you can find these grades to purchase online.
I had purchased two beautiful pork chops and wanted to do them justice. Cooking pork slowly and at a low temperature results in an unctuous dish. Don’t be frightened of the fat and don’t cut it off – it adds flavour. By all means don’t eat it if you prefer!
I used the medium grade syrup. Maple syrup is such a great ingredient to experiment with – just make sure you’re using 100% maple syrup – some on the market are not!
Slather the chops with the syrup and smoked paprika
Marinade the chops for as long as you can, at least a couple of hours, if you can before cooking. The smoked paprika will add a mellow, smoky taste at the end, but becomes almost unidentifable.
I promise you this dish will become a favourite. Serve with simple accompaniments like mashed potato and a green vegetable.
Full of flavour, soft and yielding – smoked paprika and maple pork
- 1 large pork chop per person
- 1 dessertspoon maple syrup per chop
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika per chop
- 200 ml white wine
- Salt
- Pepper
- Slather each pork chop with the maple syrup and smoked paprika and leave for a few hours to infuse the flavours.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Place the chops and any remaining marinade into an oven proof dish and add ½cm water.
- Roast for approximate 2.5 hours. Check occasionally and add more water if it is drying out. The fat should we well cooked through and the meat soft.
- Take the meat out of the oven and keep warm whilst you make the sauce.
- Strain off excess fat.
- Add the wine and mix the carmelised bits well into the sauce. Cook until reduced by half. Test for seasoning.
- Serve with your choice of vegetables
A slice of the maple marzipan cake made in a kugelhopf tin
Did you know?
- Maple syrup is an excellent source of manganese, which plays an important role in energy production and antioxidant defences, and is necessary for normal brain and nerve function. A 60ml portion of maple syrup contains 100% of the recommended daily intake of manganese.
- It provides 37% of the recommended daily intake of riboflavin, which aids in the metabolic process.
- Pure maple syrup also contains 18% of the recommended daily intake of zinc, which is essential for a healthy immune system.
- Other minerals found in maple syrup are magnesium, calcium and potassium, decreasing the risk of hypertension or stroke.
Source: We Love Maple
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