You won't believe how simple it is to make your own apple sauce to add a fruity vibrancy to golden, pan-fried pork. Serve with a rustic, creamy mash and green beans and you have yourself a refined weeknight dinner that will impress everyone – including you.
Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced. Peel and chop potatoes into 3cm pieces. Place in a saucepan of cold, salted water over high heat and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and almost falling apart. Drain and set aside.
Quarter apples and remove cores. Place in a small, high-sided baking tray. Pick sage leaves from their stems, reserving 4 leaves, and add to apples. Combine stock cube with 125ml (½ cup) boiling water and pour over apples. Roast for 15 minutes or until slightly softened.
Press reserved sage leaves into pork and season with salt flakes. Heat oil in a large, non-stick frypan over high heat. Cook pork for 1–2 minutes each side or until browned. Place pork on top of apple and roast for a further 12–15 minutes or until pork is just cooked through and apple is softened. Remove from oven, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, return potatoes to saucepan with butter, milk and ½ teaspoon salt flakes. Use a potato masher to mash potatoes until as smooth as possible. Stir through mustard and season with pepper.
Trim beans and cook in a saucepan of salted, boiling water for 1–2 minutes or until tender. Drain.
Remove pork from tray. Using a fork, remove apple skins and discard. Lightly crush apples and sage to make a rough sauce. Divide mash between plates, top with beans, pork and spoon over apple sauce to serve.