The pork chops were superb to start with.  They had a good layer of fat, they were modest in size, and they came from Flying Pigs in the Greenmarket (now doesn’t that phrase sound interesting?).  Like the one for the greens, the recipe was incredibly simple.  That for the pork chop was once again from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers’ “Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe“.

• two pork chops from Flying Pigs Farm, thoroughly dried, seasoned with salt, and pepper, seared in a heavy enameled cast-iron pan, half a lemon squeezed over them then left in the pan with them while they were roasting in a 400º oven for about 14 minutes (flipped halfway through and the lemon squeezed over them once again), finished with a sprinkling of chopped fresh oregano from Central Valley Farm
• collard greens from Phillips Farm, cut as a rough chiffonade, then braised in a heavy pot in which crushed garlic form Berried Treasures had been allowed to sweat with some olive oil, the dish finished with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a German white, a Mosel, Später-Veit Pinot Blanc Trocken 2012 (piesport)

This entrée was shockingly quick and easy to assemble, incredibly (literally!) delicious, and very beautiful.

Psst! I snapped the picture before sprinkling the top of the chop – and its environs – with more minced fresh green-and-copper-colored fennel fronds (it made the plate even, well, . . . prettier).

• using a variation on a recipe favorite of mine, originally adapted from “Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe”, I thoroughly dried and seasoned two 8-ounce pork chops Barry and I brought home from a wonderful new butcher shop in the West Village, Hudson & Charles, seared them in a heavy enameled iron pan over high heat, then squeezed half of a lemon over the top, placed the pan in a 400º oven for 15 minutes along with the lemon (turning once, the lemon then pressed over the second side of each, which was then basted with the juices), the chops removed from the pan when they were firm to the touch, and sprinkled with finely-chopped copper fennel fronds from Norwich Meadows Farm
• small red and orange bell peppers from Norwich Meadows Farm, halved, the seeds removed, sautéed over a high flame until slightly caramelized, and finished, the heat still up, with chopped basil (Full Bloom Market Garden in South Deerfield, Massachusetts) from Whole Foods, and a small amount of balsamic vinegar
• the wine was a Portuguese white, a Minho, Quinta da Aveleda 2013 (80% Loureiro, 20% Alvarinho)

**

• loin pork chops from Tamarack Hollow Farm, seared quickly, half of a lemon squeezed on top, then baked in a hot oven and  finished with lovage from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• collard greens from Lucky Dog Farm, braised with halved garlic from Berried Treasures
• the wine was an Austrian white, Adolf & Heinrich Fuchs Sauvignon Blanc Qualitätswein Trocken Steiermark 2013

This simple approach to cooking pork chops is one of my favorites; in fact it’s one of my favorite recipes period.  It’s foolproof, and the pork ends up incredibly juicy each time, and it takes a total of only about 20-25 minutes, most of it unattended.  It’s from the “Italian Two Easy” London River Cafe cookbook, and I like to share it at every opportunity I get. This is my own, slightly-altered version of the recipe for the chops:

Pork Chops with Lemon

2 pork chops, cut 1 inch thick (if 1 1/2 inches, increase each of the suggested 8 minute cooking times to about 10 minutes)

1/2 lemon

Heat an enameled cast-iron pan* until very hot.  Heat the oven to 400ºF.
Thoroughly dry and season each chop, put them in the pan and sear quickly on each side. Remove the pan from the heat.
Squeeze the lemon juice over the chops, and place the squeezed lemon half in the pan along with the chops. Roast in the oven for about 8 minutes. Press the lemon half onto the chops and baste with the juice. Roast for another 8 minutes or until firm to the touch (think, checking for the doneness of a steak).

OPTIONAL: Finish with a sprinkling of a chopped herb or herbs, or perhaps some topped with warmed cherry tomato halves and/or the herb(s).

* If no enameled cast-iron pan is available, the chops can be seared in one that is not, then transferred to an oven-proof ceramic or glass pan before being out into the oven, perhaps adjusting for the cooking time because the oven pan will not have been heated before being put into the oven.

 

This simple approach to cooking pork chops is one of my favorites; in fact it’s one of my favorite recipes, period!  It’s foolproof, and the pork ends up incredibly juicy each time, and it takes a total of only about 20-25 minutes, most of it unattended.  It’s from the “Italian Two Easy” London River Cafe cookbook, and I like to share it at every opportunity I get. This is my own, slightly-altered version of the recipe for the chops:

Pork Chops with Lemon

2 pork chops, cut 1 inch thick (if 1 1/2 inches, increase each of the suggested 8 minute cooking times to about 10 minutes)

1/2 lemon

Heat an enameled cast-iron pan* until very hot.  Heat the oven to 400ºF.
Thoroughly dry and season each chop, put them in the pan and sear quickly on each side. Remove the pan from the heat.
Squeeze the lemon juice over the chops, and place the squeezed lemon half in the pan along with the chops. Roast in the oven for about 7-8 minutes. Press the lemon half onto the chops and baste with the juice. Roast for another 7-8 minutes or until firm to the touch (think of using your finger to check for the doneness of a steak).

OPTIONAL: Finish with a sprinkling of a chopped herb or herbs, or perhaps some topped with warmed cherry tomato halves and/or the herb(s).

* If no enameled cast-iron pan is available, the chops can be seared in one that is not, then transferred to an oven-proof ceramic or glass pan before being put into the oven, adjusting for the cooking time because the second pan will not have been heated before being put into the oven.

It was a delicious meal, including the pork chops, although they had delivered a lesson on the importance of proper doneness in meat: Despite my extreme familiarity with the simple recipe, they were at least slightly overdone this time*.

• two boneless heritage pig pork chops (a total of 1.04 lbs) from Flying Pigs Farm/Maple Ridge Meats, seasoned on both sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, plus a very small amount of crushed hickory smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, seared quickly in a heavy oval enameled cast-iron pan, one halved California organic lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market squeezed over the top of each, after which the lemon was left in the pan between them, cut side down), the chops placed inside a 400º oven, flipped halfway through, the lemon half squeezed over them once again and again replaced on the bottom of the pan, a small piece of finely chopped fresh yellow aji dulce pepper sprinkled on top of the pork at the time they were flipped, then roasted for a total of about 15 minutes altogether [*which was a little too long in this case, maybe because the chops thinner than usual], removed from the oven and arranged on 2 plates, the few juices that remained poured over the top of each, the pork garnished with micro scallions from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• two bright white and deep green ‘roses’. or bunches of bok choy (also known, here and elsewhere, as bok choi, pak choi, pak choy, pok choi, or ‘small white vegetable’) from Campo Rosso Farm, washed, sliced into roughly one-inch sections, wilted inside a large vintage, heavy tin-lined copper pot in a tablespoon or so of olive oil after 2 halved Keith’s Farm rocambole garlic cloves had already been heated there until they had begun to brown, the cabbage cooking process starting with the thickest sections of this wonderful brassica chinensis, that is, those closest to the root ends, the vegetable removed from the flame while the stems were still a little crunchy, finished on the plates seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, and drizzled with a little more olive oil
• one large green-become-yellow heirloom tomato from Eckerton Hill Farm, seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper, gently heated in a little olive oil inside a copper skillet for a couple of minutes, arranged next to the chops and sprinkled with chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Italian (Veneto) white, Pra, Soave Classico ‘OTTO’ 2018, from Flatiron Wines
• the main dinner music was from the ‘British Music Collection’ series, an album of works by Colin Matthews, whose music is absurdly underrepresented in programming today, at least in the U.S., with Oliver Knussen conducting the London Sinfonietta, and after that we listened to Alexander Goehr’s ‘Symphony in One Movement”, Op. 29 

The chops end up looking very different whenever I revisit this recipe, one of my favorites, period. This time it looks like they were trying to emulate a tomato that couldn’t decide what color it wanted to be.

• two 8-ounce boneless pork chops from Flying Pigs Farm, rinsed, thoroughly dried, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, before being seared quickly (above a medium high flame) in a heavy enameled cast-iron pan, after which half of a Chelsea Gristedes Supermarket Mexican lemon was squeezed over the top (the lemon then left in the pan between them, cut side down), the chops placed in a 400º oven for about 13 minutes altogether, flipped halfway through, when most of one finely chopped aji dulce pepper (heatless) was scattered on top and the lemon squeezed over the pork again before being replaced on the bottom of the pan, which was returned to the oven, but 3 minutes before the chops were finished, one halved medium red and orange striped heirloom tomato from Jersey Farm Produce Inc. in the Saturday 23rd Street farmers market, the cut sides seasoned with salt and pepper, was also placed on the bottom, until the chops were done, chops and tomato removed from the oven and arranged on 2 plates, some of the juices that remained in the pan (there were very few this time) poured over them, chopped garlic chive seed from Space on Ryder Farm sprinkled on top
• nine ounces of medium size Brussels sprouts  from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday Chelsea Farmers Market tossed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasted in a 400º oven until browned and crisp on the outside, or roughly 20 minutes (when they will taste surprisingly sweet and a bit nutty)
• the wine was a South African (Western Cape Province/Robertson Valley) white, Arabella Chenin Blanc 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was Christopher Tignor‘s album, ‘Thunder Lay Down In The Heart’