We’ve been doing good eating better and so far so good! Toblerone loves being my guinea pig of sorts. Actually, I think he doesn’t mind as long as his belly is full!
Tonight I made smothered pork chops with apples, onions, and cheese from Rocco Dispirito’s book, “Now Eat This!” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this guy is a genius…and hot. Of course I didn’t have the exact ingredients so I improvised with what Germany has to offer me but it’s do-able, in all countries people! NO EXCUSES! EAT BETTER!
I’m not big on apples to begin with but the mustardy oniony appley taste is different and paired up perfectly with the pork meat. Guten Appetit!
Normal Smothered Pork Chops: Calories 500 Fat 15 grams
Revised by Rocco: Calories 243 Fat 6.5 grams
What you will need:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 Large red onion cut into 1/2 inch thick slices/rings OR 2 small white onions
3 Large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 6 or more wedges each (less sugar than the typical applesauce used)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup low fat, low sodium chicken broth
Four 4 ounce portions of lean pork loin (1 1/2 inches thick) trimmed of all visible fat. For this I used minute pork chops, very thin just cooks quicker.
2 Tablespoons coarse-grain Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (or I just used dried basil because it’s what I had on hand.)
1/2 cup shredded 50% reduced-fat cheddar cheese such as Cabot. (Germans don’t know what cheddar is so I used the closest I could find.)
1. Preheat oven to 450 F. or 230 C. Spray a large foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Separate the onion rings. Lay the onions and apples on the baking sheet in a single layer. For me, my oven is made for ants so I had to squish a bit. Yours should be more spread out. Spray lightly with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast the apples and onions until the apples are tender and start to brown on the edges. Should take about 20 mins.
For those who don’t know (I didn’t, I had to look it up!) “Roasting” means to cook/bake at a higher temperature. Just make sure your oven is preheated to the correct temp!
3. Turn the broiler on high. Broil the apples and onions until they are slightly charred – about 3 minutes. The pieces of onions around the edges of the pan charred a lot more than the rest and the apples looked like they were about to explode but that’s probably more because I don’t now what the options on my oven are telling me. I just pick one at random and enjoy the show! 🙂
4. Put about 3/4 cup of the apple-onion mixture in a blender and add the chicken broth. Puree until the mixture is smooth and put the rest of the apple-onion aside. For this, I don’t have a blender but the apples and onions are both so tender and mushy you can easily just smush and whisk with a fork or so. Doesn’t need to be perfect.
5. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Season pork with salt and pepper to taste. When pan is hot, spray with cooking spray and add the pork (careful of splattering!) Sautee until brown on both sides and cooked through ( about 3 minutes or so.) Transfer pork to a plate and cover.
6. Reduce heat of the skillet to low and add the pureed apple-onion mixture. Add the mustard and whisk. Once stirred together, add in the rest of the apples and onions you set aside from earlier and the tarragon if you have it. Be sure to cover the added apples and onions evenly with the sauce.
7. Remove skillet from heat and add salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture over the pork chops and sprinkle with cheese. Serve Immediately.
VOILA! Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
The Diary of Sugar and Spice 