Pan Roast Pork Chops

When I plan dinner, I have two or more conflicting ideas with a central theme - very much like the center hub of a wheel and the spokes around it. I don’t like to make the same things the same way. Many times I start with a recipe plan that evolves as I work my way through the stages of cooking. This has to do with having a desire for one particular dish but not having the usual ingredients.

I wanted some cacciatore, sometimes spelled cacciatora, a dish that has its origins in Italy. There are regional variations but these come mostly from the variables of ingredients readily available from region to region. Some areas of the North might use white wine, in the South it would likely be red. Some recipes rely heavily on tomato but others use little or none. Basically all recipes center around olive oil, onion, garlic, possibly mushrooms, bell peppers and tomato with wine.

Today the dish is usually made with chicken, its origin “hunter’s-style” made with wildfowl or rabbit following a successful hunt. In this case, I had neither wild game nor chicken on hand. I did have two beautiful Duroc center cut pork chops. It seemed a shame to stew them in the traditional cacciatore manner to the point of falling off the bone. It was also a mean, snowy blustery day which discouraged me from grilling the chops. I decided to pan roast them to a nice medium doneness, serve them with a cacciatore style vegetable braise and use it as a sauce for some pasta.

PAN ROAST PORK CHOPS with Cacciatore Style Vegetable Braise
Serves 2

Ingredients Vegetable Braise:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, 1/2 inch dice

• 1 red bell pepper, 1/2 inch dice

• 6 ounces crimini mushrooms, quartered

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

• 14 ounce can whole tomatoes in purée

• 1/2 cup red wine

• 1 teaspoon dry oregano

• 1 teaspoon dry basil

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

• salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

• heat the oil in a medium sized sauté pan over medium-high heat

• add to the pan the onion and bell pepper and cook for about three minutes until the vegetables begin to soften

• add in the garlic and the mushrooms and continue to cook for three or four minutes more

• stir in the oregano, basil, sugar and chili flakes

• crush the tomatoes by hand or rough chop and add to the pan along with the wine

• season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and then cover and lower the heat to low and cook for another twenty minutes

Ingredients for Pork Chops:

• 2 Duroc or Berkshire center cut chops

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• salt and pepper

Method:

• season both sides of the chops generously with salt and especially black pepper

• heat the oil in a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet on medium-high heat and preheat an oven to 400 F degrees

• sear the chops on one side for about 2 minutes, turn the chops over and place the pan in the preheated oven

• continue to cook the chops for 3 or 4 minutes more until medium doneness, about 145 F degrees internal temperature, then remove from the pan and keep warm

For service:

• cooked stick pasta such as penne or bow ties, or polenta as a nice alternative

• place a serving of pasta on each plate

• divide the vegetable braise over the pasta

• place a chop alongside the dressed pasta and serve

The chops could be cooked on the broiler setting of the oven but after years of working by skillet searing meats, finishing them in restaurant kitchens oven, I find this to be my preferred method.

If there is too much vegetable braise, I’m sure that you’ll find another use for it such as a sauce for a mozzarella omelette or scramble. This is the best of both worlds. I have a nicely cooked pork chop with the satisfying plate of pasta on a cold early Spring day and an opportunity to reuse the braise.

A delicious and easy preparation. Enjoy!