mark sargeant's italian pork chop tagliatelle

I've been been interested in Mark Sargeant for a while now, ever since he unexpectedly pitched up in my hometown of Folkestone with not just restaurant, Rock Salt, but a swanky chip shop next door called The Smokehouse. Lord knows why he'd bother, but I'm glad he has if only because the prices annoy my mother, but the town needs something other than kebab shops and I'm desperate to go next time I'm home.

In the meantime he's popped up in the latest Delicious with a spread of meals that all look well, delicious. First up is a pork'n'pasta affair, complete with spinach and tenderstem broccoli, which looks simple enough to knock together for the massed ranks of the Barnes' of Barnes, and the visiting McCarthy royalty who have spent the day cheering on our Andy at Wimbledon.

It *almost* works. We seemed to have rediscovered pork this year, and the chop is nice and juicy here, helped by the combination of the lemon juice, anchovy fillets and garlic give it a punchy base. Despite this, the whole thing is just a little dry. Next time - and there will be a next time as the flavours are all very moreish - I'm going to add some creme fraiche to make a bit more of a sauce to coat the pasta in.

Wine Time
The sauce is key here: It's piquant with the salty umami flavours from the anchovies, parmesan and garlic, with a large wallop of fresh acidity from the lemon juice. A crisp and acidic white would be pretty good, but pork loves pink, so get a bottle of pale, super-dry rosé in the fridge and you won't go wrong!

sources
italian pork chop tagliatelle - Mark Sargeant, Delicious, August 2013, p91