From Learn to Cook with Gordon Ramsey, as published in the Radio Times
Pork chops with sweet & sour peppers - Serves 2
You’ll be amazed at how two such simple things can taste so
good together. The sweet and sour peppers really cut through the
richness of the beautifully sautéed chops and make for a really good,
quick supper dish. As always when frying chops, leave them to rest as
long as you cooked them so that they can tenderise and reabsorb their
juices.
Ingredients:
- 2 pork chops, about 200g/8oz each
- Olive oil, for frying
- 2 garlic cloves, skin on, crushed
- Small bunch of thyme
- Butter
- For the sweet and sour peppers:
-
Olive oil, for frying
- 1 red onion, peeled and sliced
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and thinly sliced
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Small bunch of basil, leaves shredded
1. First prepare the peppers. Heat a little
olive oil in a large frying pan, then add the onion and peppers. Season
with salt and pepper, add the sugar and sauté over a high heat for 4-5
minutes until soft and coloured. (Make sure you can hear the vegetables
hissing in the pan. If not, the pan isn’t hot enough and you’re in
danger of boiling the vegetables instead of frying them.)
2. Add the vinegar and let it bubble for a
minute or two until it has reduced and the peppers are soft. Turn down
the heat, add the tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and cook for a
further 2-3 minutes. Stir in the shredded basil and continue to cook for
30 seconds, then turn off the heat. Decant into a bowl and set aside to
infuse. Wipe the pan clean, ready to cook the pork.
3. Using a sharp knife, make cuts into the
fat of the chops, about 5mm deep and at 3-4cm intervals, making sure you
don’t cut into the meat. (This will stop the meat from curling up
during cooking and will make it cook more evenly.) Season the chops
really well on both sides, pushing the seasoning into the meat.
4. Place the cleaned-out frying pan over a
high heat until hot and add a dash of oil. Add the chops, garlic and
thyme and fry for 2-3 minutes until coloured. Turn the chops and fry for
a further 2-3 minutes, pushing the thyme under the chops and breaking
up the garlic a little.
5. Towards the end of cooking time, add 3
knobs of butter and baste the chops with it as they are cooking, to
speed up the cooking process and keep the chops moist. (Push the fatty
edge of the chops towards the back of the pan to help render the fat.)
Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and place with the herbs on top of
the chops.
6. Transfer the chops to a plate, and rest
for 5-10 minutes, spooning over the basting butter now and again. Serve
the chops on top of the peppers with the resting juices and a little
juice from the peppers.
Thanks for reading. Comments
are welcome!
Labels: dinner, Gordon Ramsay, kitchen, peppers, pork