I'm loving Jamie Oliver this week. Made his pan-fried glazed pork chops last night (page 230 of Food Revolution). Love, love, love the flavor of these chops. And so did Ben (8.25 rating). The chops I bought were a little too thick, so ended up slightly overcooked. Maybe should've paid more attention to the pictures all over the next page. I need to read the entire recipe and review pictures prior to shopping. Lesson learned.
The recipe is low maintenance and loaded with flavor (amazing since it's only sea salt/pepper/olive oil/applesauce for glazing and a squeeze of lemon at the end). He always includes fresh herbs, so there is a little sage as well. Dinner's ready (with a thinner chop) in under 20 minutes start to finish. And again, I mark this as family friendly since both my kids devoured it (E looked like a little old man chewing up the pork with only her front teeth).
I served this with dinner rolls and a cucumber salad, but Jamie (yes, we're on a first name basis) recommends dressed veggies, a fresh salad, plain rice or mashed potatoes. I agree with all of those sides (and yes, I'm sure Jamie approves of my approval).
Here's the recipe:
2 x 8oz pork chops (go free-range or organic)
olive oil
sea salt/pepper
4 sprigs of fresh sage
optional 1 lemon (use it...helps 'balance out the sweetness a bit')
applesauce (also can use mango chutney, apricot jam, maple syrup or honey)
Trim the skin off the edges (crackling...yum). Cut strips lengthways so you end up with 4 strips. Make cuts every 1/4 inch along fat remaining on the chops. Helps crisp it while cooking. Rub both sides of the chops with olive oil, salt, & pepper. Season strips as well. Pick sage leave off stalks, lightly coat with olive oil and set aside.
Get your frying pan and put over high heat, add your strips of skin (that kind of gives me the heebie jeebies, but they really are so good). Move them about the pan and remove when golden, crisp, and crackling. Put in your chops and give them 4-5 minutes on each side, turning every minute. When they're looking golden, add a few sage leaves to the pan. Let the leaves crisp up (about 30 seconds), then remove to plate. Spoon a large tbsp of applesauce (or other glazing ingredient) over each chop. Keep turning chops over to get a nice coat and let them cook till they are a dark, reddy-golden color. Remove from pan and let rest for a minute or two, squeezing the lemon to balance the sweetness. Ben really thought the lemon made a big difference, so I highly recommend this last step.
So, there you go. My last JO recipe of the week was a big hit. I will use a thinner chop next time and maybe experiment with other glazing ingredients. Although I really, really liked the flavor of the applesauce. I give this a solid 8/10 (only falls short of an 'A' from being slightly overcooked).
I'm loving this new adventure in the kitchen and my family seems to be enjoying it as well. Let me know if you try any of these recipes. Would love to hear your feedback as well.
Coming soon:
Arugula, apple & manchego salad with cider vinaigrette (from www.onceuponachef.com)
A proper Sunday roast (beef) with horseradish sauce, roasted veggies and maybe even Yorkshire puddings (my last JO recipe for now)
Will be diving into a cookbook from 1980 next week ~ The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook ~ from my late Nanny Huba. Oh, what fun!
Happy Cooking! Happy Eating!
Yoyo
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