Aces Pork Chops W Cherry Peppers Fennel Recipes

PORK CHOPS WITH SWEET AND HOT PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chops with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to pan -- 1 turn of the pan. Add chops and cook 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil. Return pan to heat and add more extra-virgin olive oil and bell peppers. Saute, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Add hot cherry peppers and a splash of their brine to the pan, cook a minute. Add wine or stock and scrape up pan drippings. Arrange peppers over chops and serve.

PORK CHOPS WITH FENNEL AND CAPER SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil over high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork to the pan and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes each side. Remove the pork from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and set aside.
• Add the fennel, shallots, and 1/3 cup parsley to the pan and cook over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the pork back into the pan, nestling the chops between the fennel and tomatoes so they are mostly submerged in the pan juices. Cook until the fennel is tender and the pork is done, about 12 to 15 minutes.
• Place the pork on a serving dish. To finish the sauce, add the lemon zest, remaining 1/3 cup parsley, capers, and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Spoon over the pork chops and serve immediately.

PORK CHOPS IN CHERRY-PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Drain the cherry peppers, reserving 1 cup brine, then stem, halve, core and seed them. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat, and swirl the olive oil into it. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic, and sauté, stirring frequently, until it begins to color, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the peppers, the reserved brine and the white wine, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the liquid has reduced by slightly more than half, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. (The sauce can be made a few hours ahead of time.)
• When you're ready to cook the meat, season it aggressively with salt and pepper. Place a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, and swirl the neutral oil into it. When the oil begins to shimmer, place the meat in the pan, working in batches if needed, and sear until the meat has browned, formed something of a crust and cooked through to medium-rare, 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Transfer the chops to a warmed platter.
• Add the sauce to the large, heavy-bottomed skillet in which you seared the meat, and warm over medium-low heat. Whisk the butter into the sauce until evenly distributed and the sauce develops a velvety sheen. Spoon sauce over chops, and garnish with parsley.

ROAST PORK WITH FENNEL, CHILES, AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Rub pork all over with salt. Coarsely grind seeds and peppercorns in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle; rub all over pork. Bring pork to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Rub pork with oil to coat generously. Roast until sizzling, about 20 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 375 degrees. Baste pork, and roast until center reaches 145 degrees, about 30 minutes more. Let pork rest 15 minutes before slicing. Meanwhile, toss fennel and chiles with just enough oil to coat; season with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; roast until tender and lightly browned on bottom, 25 to 30 minutes. Add olives, and roast until hot, about 5 minutes. Toss together; serve with pork.

PORK CHOPS WITH FENNEL AND CARROTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss fennel, carrots, onion, and garlic with 3 tablespoons oregano and 4 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until vegetables are tender and browned in spots, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Season pork chops with salt and pepper and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons oregano. In batches, cook until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer 2 pork chops and 1 cup roasted vegetables to separate airtight containers; refrigerate, up to 3 days. Serve 4 pork chops with remaining vegetables and lemon wedges.

BRINED PORK CHOPS WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Make the brine: Put salt, sugar, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice and fennel seeds in a bowl. Whisk in 4 cups water to dissolve salt and sugar.
• Put pork chops in one layer in a glass or plastic container. Pour brine over to completely submerge chops. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably longer, up to overnight. Remove chops from brine and pat dry. Discard brine.
• Cook the chops: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Set a wide, heavy skillet over high heat and add olive oil. When oil is wavy, add chops in one layer and let brown for about 3 minutes per side.
• Remove chops from pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-high and add sliced onion and fennel, stirring to coat with oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and crushed fennel seeds and turn off heat.
• Lay the chops on top of the onion-fennel mixture (alternatively, transfer all of it to a baking dish) and place pan, uncovered, in oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the internal temperature of chops is 140 degrees.
• Remove chops and let rest for about 5 minutes. Transfer onion-fennel mixture to a platter and keep warm. Cut chops into 1/8-inch slices and add to platter. Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with fennel fronds. Serve with lemon wedges.

GRILLED PORK CHOPS WITH CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Pat the chops dry, and rub them all over with a mixture of the rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic. Cover, and marinate for up to 2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator. Bring the chops back to room temperature before grilling.
• Heat one side of a charcoal or gas grill, and put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Cook the chops over the hottest part of the fi re until well seared on both sides, about 3 or 4 minutes per side. Move them to the cool part of the grill, cover and cook until done, anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes, depending on the heat of the fi re and the thickness of the chops. The pork is done when it's just fi rm to the touch, its juices run just slightly pink and the meat is rosy in the center, or when an instant-read thermometer registers 135 degrees in the thickest part of the chop (the temperature will continue to rise as the chops rest). Transfer them to a platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let them rest while you make the sauce.
• Put 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add the shallots, and cook until soft, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the cherries, wine and whatever juices have accumulated around the pork chops; cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces into a thin syrup, 5 or 6 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, a little at a time, until it's incorporated into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the chops, and serve.

CRISPY FENNEL PORK CHOPS WITH PAN-FRIED FENNEL

Steps:

• Heat half the oil in a frying pan and fry the spring onions and fennel for 5 to 6 minutes over a medium-high heat until they begin to soften and become golden. Add the spices and cook for a minute more, tossing the onions and fennel until coated, then remove from the pan and set aside.
• Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Increase the heat and fry the chops for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until lovely and golden and nearly cooked through.
• Return the spring onions and fennel to the pan with a splash of water and the vinegar. Bubble for 1 minute, then serve.

ACE'S PORK CHOPS W/ CHERRY PEPPERS & FENNEL

Steps:

• Use the extra salt and pepper to season the chops on both sides. Over very high heat sear the chops in pan on both side (appx 3-4 mins) or until they are brown on both sides.
• Remove from pan (cover with foil) and lower hear to med high.
• Add fennel, hot and bell peppers, shallot, 1/4 cup parsley and cook till lightly brown (appx 3 mins).
• Add wine and chicken stock to deglaze the pan, scraping up brown bits from bottom (that's where all the flavor is).
• Add tomatoes and stir.
• Place pork back into the pan nesting in fennel and tomato mixture.
• Cook fr 12 to 15 mins or until pork is done.
• Place pork on dish and add lemon juice and zest, parsley, capers and salt and pepper.
• Mix and pour over chops.