Sometimes I think about the meals I've prepared in the past few days, and reflect on all of the work that went into them. I review the ingredient lists, think about the meals for the rest of the week, and realize that I am quite prone to recipes that are pretty involved. I often need to remind myself that good food doesn't need to contain 17 ingredients. It only has to be made with GOOD ingredients, and be prepared properly. I ran into this very scenario when I pulled my pork chops out of the fridge and thought about how to prepare them. Sure I could stuff them, fry them, grill them, or make some elaborate and amazing masterpiece with them, but today I just wanted to taste the PORK CHOP. So this time I went simple, and the results were flavorful and delicious; a juicy pork chop, served up with sides of filling mashed turnip and braised cabbage with apples. Simple winter comfort food at it's finest.
4 bone in pork chops
juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon dairy free butter
salt and tablespoon
flour for dusting
Lightly tenderize your chops using a meat mallet. Lay your chops out flat in a single layer on a platter, and pour lemon juice over them. Let them sit at room temp for one hour.
Heat your butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. If your chops are still pretty wet from the juice, pat dry with a paper towel (if they're too wet they won't brown up). Season the chops with salt and pepper and lightly dust with flour. Place in a single layer in your skillet, and let them get nice and brown on each side. Don't move them or mess with them too much or they won't brown up. Depending on the thickness of your chops, they should cook approximately 5 or 6 minutes per side until cooked through. Once cooked, remove them from the pan and let them sit at least ten minutes from serving.
For even more amazing flavor top with a pad of chive butter:
4 tablespoons dairy free butter
¼ cup finely chopped chives
salt to taste
Soften butter, and mix in chives and salt. Form into 4 even squares and refrigerate until ready to use (at least a half hour). Top each warm chop with one square of chive butter, and enjoy!
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