Pork Chops With Sauteed Chickpeas Escarole And Apple Recipes

PAN-SEARED PORK CHOPS WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES

Steps:

• Pat dry pork chops with paper towels.
• Brush pork chops with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
• Allow the pork chops to rest while you prepare the apples as follows below. This brings pork chops closer to room temperature which will help them sear better.
• I used 2 apples (1 red Gala apple and 1 green Granny Smith apple, for presentation purposes). Core the apples and slice each one length-wise.
• Place sliced apples into a large bowl, add brown sugar, cinnamon, and mix. Let apples sit for about 10 minutes to release juices.
• In a large pan (I used a large stainless steel skillet), heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high heat. Add sliced apples (without juice at the bottom of the pan) and cook on high heat for about 3 minutes on one side, checking periodically. After 3 or 5 minutes, flip sliced apples to the other side, reduce heat to medium and cook the apples for another 3 or 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Cook the apples in a single layer, without overcrowding to get a slightly "roasted" appearance. That means you might have to cook apples in 2 batches. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter for the second batch.
• Depending on how hot your stove gets, it might take you less or more time to cook apples, the key is to brown them or even get a slightly "burned" effect. But don't overdo it, remove the cooked apples from the skillet once the apples have this "roasted" appearance.
• Right after you remove the pan with roasted sliced apples from the heat, immediately add honey to the hot skillet - it will make apples sizzle and will caramelize them beautifully, off the heat.
• For best searing results, use a cast-iron skillet. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes to heat it through.
• Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil - the oil should shimmer. Add the pork chops, and cook them on one side for 5 minutes, without moving.
• Reduce the heat to medium, flip the pork chops over to the other side, and cook them on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Cook longer (depending on the thickness of your pork chops) until the pork chops are cooked through.
• Spoon the cooked apples, together with the sauce from cooking the apples, over the pork chops. Top with fresh thyme.

BAKED PORK CHOPS WITH CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place sliced onion pieces on the bottom of a glass baking dish. Lay pork chops over the onions. Cover chops evenly with cream of mushroom soup. Add water and bouillon to the top, breaking up bouillon cubes to get the flavor spread out. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven, stirring the gravy once or twice, until no longer pink in the centers, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a chop should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

ROSEMARY-GARLIC PORK CHOPS WITH CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Toss the pork chops with 1 tablespoon olive oil, the chopped rosemary and grated lemon zest on a rimmed baking sheet; season generously with salt and pepper.
• Toss the chickpeas, garlic, roasted red peppers and rosemary sprigs with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Scatter around the pork chops. Pour the chicken broth over the chickpea mixture.
• Broil, stirring the chickpea mixture once and rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until a thermometer inserted into the pork registers 145 degrees F, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

HOT HONEY PORK CHOPS WITH ESCAROLE AND WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over high. Season pork chops on both sides with 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook pork until underside is golden brown, about 1 minute. Turn and cook on other side about 1 minute before turning again. Repeat, turning every minute, until chops are deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 135°F, 6-8 minutes total.
• Transfer pork to a plate and let rest 5 minutes. Pour off and discard all but 1 Tbsp. fat from skillet. Add garlic to skillet, heat over medium, and cook, stirring, until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add honey, red pepper flakes, and 1 Tbsp. vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbling, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Taste and add more red pepper flakes, if desired.
• Working one at a time, return pork chop to skillet, spooning hot sauce over, making sure to thoroughly coat both sides. Transfer to plates or a platter. Add beans, black pepper, and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vinegar, and 1 tsp. salt to sauce in skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beans are warmed through, about 4 minutes.
• Place escarole in a large bowl. Pour hot beans and sauce over escarole and toss to coat thoroughly and wilt escarole slightly. Serve alongside pork.

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Mix flour, sage, garlic, thyme, salt, allspice, and paprika together in a small bowl. Set aside 2/3 of the spice mixture for later use. Sprinkle remaining spice mixture onto the pork chops, coating all sides.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and cook in the hot oil until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove pork from the skillet.
• Add onion to the skillet and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add apples; cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Stir in apple juice, brown sugar, and reserved spice mixture; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until pork is longer pink in the center, and reaches desired level of doneness, about 5 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).