Overall rating: 8/10
Deliciousness
Rating: 7/10
An exemplary example of British cuisine at its finest, this meal was both scrumptious and hearty. I’m not one to make pork chops a lot, unless they’re on sale at the grocery store. The cuts of meat were nice and thick, with just enough fat to retain moisture during the cooking process. Lightly seasoned with a spice blend containing fennel, coriander, ground mustard, and garlic powder, these were some of the best pork chops I’ve ever made at home. I appreciated the addition of steamed kale and fresh English peas, which helped balance out the heaviness of the pork and potatoes and added great flavor of their own. Overall, this dish was a solid 7/10, but compared with some of the other Blue Apron meals we’ve made, it wasn’t a stand out.
Nutrition
Rating: 8/10
- Potatoes: While these starches get a bad rap for being carb heavy, I’d much rather eat carbs that came from the ground than carbs that come in the form of over-processed white bread filled with refined sugars. Potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin C, healthy energy, and potassium, which helps reduce blood pressure.
- Kale: The addition of this superfood to this meat and potatoes dish was surprising and welcome. Kale crams a lot of your daily nutrients with each bite. One cup of kale has almost 10{2646a176311491570739a13dd319592155ac9cdba4632368aea58c38c45c78aa} DV of potassium and well over 100{2646a176311491570739a13dd319592155ac9cdba4632368aea58c38c45c78aa} DV of both Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
- English Peas: The only times I’ve ever had peas it’s been out of the freezer section of the grocery store. Growing up my mom would occasionally heat up a bag of flash-frozen peas and carrots as a side. Of all the green veggies, these were the only ones I detested because of their mealy, squishy texture and ultra-green taste. However, after this recipe, I discovered the deliciousness of freshly shelled peas. Huge Difference. Peas are a good source of fiber, Vitamins A & C, and iron.
- Goat Cheese: So So sometimes I find goat cheese to taste a bit too “goaty”. The cheese that topped this dish, however, was creamy and delicious. Goat cheese is usually a healthier option than cheese made from cow milk, because it has fewer calories and less fat.
- Pork: A 3 oz. serving of pork has 23 grams of protein plus lots of Vitamin B-6, which aids in the production of 2 of your brain’s key neurotransmitters, serotonin and norepinephrine.
Ingredients
Rating: 10/10
- Potatoes: Like they were just harvested.
- Kale: Still perky with no signs of wilting, bugs, etc.
- English Peas: Better than the American kind because they have cute British accents. These were so fresh and getting to shell them myself made me feel like a pretty legit chef.
- Goat Cheese: Mmmm. Shifted the needle on my feelings about cheese from goats.
- Pork: I thought these were excellent cuts of pork. Fatty enough to be flavorful and moist, but not so much that you can feel your arteries clogging with every bite.
Ease of Prep
Rating: 7/10
Prep time should have been 15 minutes, with a 25-35-minute cook time. Started prepping at 5:20 and finished at 6:11, so I was pretty much spot on. I struggled to get my potatoes to mash to the right consistency even after letting them cook past the recommended boiling time. In the end, I managed by adding a little cream and enlisting the help of my handy hand mixer.