Pork with caramelised pear and parsnip

Sniffle, sniffle. Aaaa-chooo.

That is the sound of cold and flu season.
Earlier this year, the country was in a little bit of a panic over the H1N1 virus (formerly known as Swineflu). However, the hype soon slowed down as many who had contracted the virus, appeared to recover well. That particular strain aside, there are many others which have seemed to bring down many of my friends and family (hubby included). So far I have managed to stay healthy despite being surrounded by mountains of tissues and sneezing people (public transport really is one big mucus-fest, which is why I avoid it at this time of the year).

In my effort to help my sick husband get better, I thought fried cheese sandwiches would not be the most beneficial lunch today, and as he has a strong aversion to soup, I thought perhaps some parsnip, pear, lemon and Pork might be a suitable alternative.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 10mins.
cooking time: 25mins.
total: 35mins.

taste: 2.5/5. Unfortunately the pears and parsnip did not caramelise before the pork was cooked through. The sweetness was then overpowered by the lemon and the pork ended up tasting a little bland. I halved the pork chops, pear and parsnip but kept everything else the same - so there was quite a lot of juices in the pan as well - but despite that some of the parsnip was a little dry.

would I make it again: No - I don't think 25mins is enough to caramelise the veg before the pork dries out - especially as it is browned before going in the oven. And overall the dish was a little too simple flavour wise.

recipe: pork with caramelised pear and parsnip