Daz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

With the abundance of citrus fruit available at the moment, bringing a little sunshine to the table on these cold nights is a little more affordable.

Comfort food, like last week's beef stifado, bring back fond memories and are often associated with food your mum cooked. Back in the 60s, usually about the time ‘Com'on' with Pete Sinclair was playing on the pye vidmatic, mum would yell at us that it was time for dinner.

We would all race to the table to devour her new adaptation from the Woman's Weekly. Californian pork chops quickly became a family favourite – cooked in her then ‘new', now ‘retro', zip electric frying pan. I remember my oldest brother got annoyed he missed out on the big chops because he was listening to the Kinks on his crystal set and missed the dinner call – with five other siblings if you were too slow you missed out on the best part, the flavour secret.

The flavour secret was the caramelised, sometimes blackened orange and lemon slices, baked and grilled into the top of each pork chop – the biter-pith broken down and balanced well with the soy and sugar to produce a unique bittersweet citrus sauce.

I would recommend a big oaky chardonnay with this dish and freshly cooked silverbeet and some roasted potatoes make it a balanced meal. Always cook two chops per person as one is never enough.

Californian pork chops

Bittersweet citrus sauce enough for four chops

500mls orange juice

2 Tbsp white vinegar or cider

4 Tbsp soya sauce (kikoman) 1Tbsp less if using a dark soya sauce

2 heaped Tbsp brown sugar

2 oranges thinly sliced

2 lemons (1 juicing and 1 sliced)

Additional seasonings

Salt and pepper and small pinch cinnamon

Few rosemary leaves or tarragon leaves work well also

1 tsp corn flour mixed with a little water

METHOD

In a heavy pan or cast iron skillet, seal and season the chops after trimming off excess fat. I often score the fat with a sharp knife and concentrate on crackling it in the pan by standing them on the edge. Lower the heat, once chops are well browned on both sides add the orange juice, vinegar, soya sauce, sprinkle over the brown sugar, squeeze one lemon over, then layer sliced oranges and lemons all over chops.

Put the whole pan in a moderate oven at 180 degrees for at least 20 minutes. Pull the pan out a few times to baste chops, top up with a little water if evaporating too quickly. The water adds no flavour, but keeps the pork from absorbing all the sauce. You may not need to thicken sauce at all depending on how long you cook the chops for and you can always lower the heat and cook them retro style for about an hour. Gone are the days when pink pork is a cooking crime like it was in the 60s. For me, tender moist pork is fine pink not grey, but each to their own. To finish the dish, thicken sauce with corn flour, only if it's runny. Add a pinch of cinnamon and optional is a few tiny leaves of rosemary or tarragon. Pour over citrus covered chops and tell the family dinner is ready only after getting the most blackened citrus caramelised chops for yourself first.