I thought everyone could do with a break from festive food, so this week I’ve got plum pork for you. It’s something that mum often makes and I have yet to find someone who doesn’t like it. Originally an Avoca recipe we’ve altered it slightly to lower the super sweetness and we use pork now instead of chicken but, indeed, feel free to use chicken if you want to.

It also happens to be a great dish for those yuletide evenings where your levels of ‘couldn’t be arsed to make dinner’ are at an all time high. An initial input of 10mins effort yields a very satisfying meal.

So put down the turkey and cinnamon and make this.

Oven temperature 160 Celsius

Pork fillet                       500g

Onion                             1

Garlic                             4 cloves

Plum jam                       350g

Light muscavado          1 tablespoons

Lemon juice                   2 tablespoons

Soy sauce                        1 tablespoon

Tomato puree                1 tablespoon

Ground ginger               1 teaspoon

Mustard powder            1 teaspoon

Worcestershire sauce    2 teaspoons

Fresh plums                    about 8

Preheat the oven and find a big ovenproof tin/pot/tray that can also go on the hob, then pop it on a medium-high heat.

Dice the pork into 3cm chunks and season well. Add a dash of oil to the pan and then throw in the pork. Fry it off till nicely brown.

As the pork is browning finely dice the onion.

When the pork is perfectly browned empty it out onto a plate and set aside.

When you’ve removed the pork put the pan back on a low heat, add in the onion and then crush in the garlic. Let that all cook away softly for a few minutes then add in all the other ingredients, including the browned pork.

Stir everything together and then put it into the preheated oven for about 45mins.

That’s all you have to do. Maybe check it after 20mins and give it a stir. But yeah, that’s all. Serve it with roast potatoes or rice or anything you fancy.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas x x x