This is a great meal to make when you want all the flavours of a roast pork dinner… but none of the hassle. This simple Pork, Parsnip and Apple Traybake is essentially a pork roast dinner made in one tray! Delicious pork chops cook on top of roast potatoes, parsnips and apple, with crispy sage and caramelised onions, for a weeknight treat that is ready in under an hour.
Pork gets the traybake treatment…
If you read this blog often, you will know I love traybakes – I love any recipe that involves putting lots of delicious ingredients in one tin, then letting the oven do the hard work! This Pork, Parsnip and Apple Traybake came about because I had done lots of chicken traybakes and sausage traybakes and I began to wonder what else might work…
One of my favourite cuts of meat is pork chops, I usually do these in a frying pan, but I wondered if they might work when given the traybake treatment. The answer is they absolutely do, but only if you sear the chops in a frying pan first. Technically, you can miss out this step (in which case, I’d add them to the traybake 5 minutes earlier than the recipe states), but they really do taste miles better if you sear them in a hot griddle pan (or normal frying pan) first.
…together with parsnips, apples and sage!
My next question was, well what else should go in a pork traybake? For me pork works wonderfully with lots of different flavour, but the ones I went for in this traybake were parsnips, apples and sage – all great flavours that work really well together and compliment the pork chops beautifully. I then added some roast potatoes, onions and garlic for a really tasty traybake that only takes 1 hour from start to finish.
Let the oven do all the hard work!
I admit, this is not quite as straightforward as some of my traybakes, you do really need to parboil the potatoes to get the best roast potato texture/flavour and, as I have mentioned above, you do need to sear the pork, but apart from those fairly straightforward activities, it is a case of chucking everything in one pan and leaving the oven to do all the hard work.
Pork Chops vs Pork Loin Steaks?
This pork traybake recipe works equally well with both pork chops and pork loin steaks. The advantage of pork loin steaks is they don’t have a bone. As you can see, I used pork loin steaks in the photographs for this recipe, but I have made this many times with pork chops as well.
What to serve with pork traybake?
This dish is simple enough to make midweek, but enough of a treat to have at the weekend too. To keep things simple on a busy weeknight you can serve this traybake just as it is – with potatoes, pork and veggies, it really is a complete meal in its own right. But, if you have a little more time, you may want to add a green vegetable and some gravy.
What to drink with pork traybake?
The flavours in this pork traybake pair well with a Chilean Chardonnay or a South African Chenin Blanc.
Can you reheat pork traybake?
I don’t recommend it. This really is a dish best served fresh – straight out of the oven.
Can you freeze pork traybake?
Technically, yes. But I don’t recommend it. This is not a recipe that fares well in the freezer.
If you like this recipe…
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Pork, Parsnip and Apple Traybake
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for frying
- 1 kg baking/roasting potatoes
- 500 g parsnips
- 1 medium cooking apple or two small dessert apples
- 1 red onion
- 8 cloves garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 pork chops or pork loin steaks
- 8 sage leaves
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the base of a roasting tin. Put the tin in the oven to heat up.
- Chop the potatoes into medium sized chunks - they should weigh approximately 40g / 1½oz each.
- Put the potatoes into a saucepan. Cover with boiling water and cook on a high heat for 10 minutes. (Start timing from the moment the boiling water goes in, NOT when the water starts to boil again).
- Cut the parsnips in half lengthways and widthways.
- Peel and core the apple. Slice into 16 slices.
- Cut the red onion into 8 equal wedges.
- Gently bash the garlic cloves but leave the skins on.
- When the potatoes are ready, tip them into the roasting tin and add the parsnip, apple, onion and garlic. Season with plenty of salt and black pepper and then turn everything over in the hot oil.
- Put the roasting tin in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and turn everything in the hot oil again. Put the tray back in the oven for a further 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put a griddle pan (or normal frying pan) over a high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan. Lightly season the chops with salt and pepper and fry them in the hot frying pan for 1 minute on each side. While you are doing this, take each chop in turn and give it about 30 seconds on top too, to cook the fat.
- When the vegetables have been roasting in the oven for a total of 30 minutes, top with the seared pork and cook for a further 10 minutes. Finally, add the sage leaves and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Serve the traybake just as it is, or with gravy and a green vegetable.
Notes
- Not suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Kate - gluten free alchemist says
I love a good tray bake! Sounds delicious……Yum!! x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Kate. I am slightly obsessed with traybakes. They take so little effort and produce such great tasting food…plus there is very little washing up…always a good thing in my book! 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
You cannot beat a good tray bake, I love how the flavours combine together. This looks delicious. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Ooooh I totally agree. I just love traybakes! Thanks for your kind comments, Kirsty 🙂 Eb x
Annie B says
I love a good tray bake for ease and I love the combination of this. Will definitely add to my list of dinners to try out. Thanks for sharing! #MakingHome
Eb Gargano says
Thank you, Annie! It’s such an easy way to do a roast dinner and even more tasty. Let me know what you think if you try it! Eb x