Pork Chops with Crispy Pancetta and Crushed Tomatoes
You bareellyyy have to use your knife for this one. You sear your pork chops and then simmer them in a delicious Mediterranean inspired sauce with orange zest, oregano, tomato’s and paprika, then top them off with crispy pancetta, parsley and aleppo pepper, you won’t be able to stop eating it!
I love making dishes where I don’t have much to cut, mainly because most of the time there’s a toddler and a baby running/crawling around and it usually takes me hours to cut anything due to constant interruptions (see my blog post about how to deal with this). You just have to chop some parsley and oregano and make a few cuts in the side of your pork chop and that’s it! Everything else is smashing a garlic clove, or opening a can of crushed tomatoes. Serve this with some roasted asparagus or broccoli rabe and rice, or polenta.
Recipe by: Tierney Larson
Servings 4
Ingredients:
For the pork:
4 bone-in pork chops, patted dry
Kosher salt & Black pepper
1 tbl grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil)
For the topping:
1/4 cup of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1.5 ounces (or half a package) of thinly sliced pancetta
1/2 tsp of aleppo pepper (or hot paprika, or red pepper flakes)
For the sauce:
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp of paprika
1 1/2 tsp (or about 5 sprigs) of fresh oregano, leaves chopped
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
Using a sharp knife, make 3 small cuts through the fat on the edge of the pork chop, until you can just see the meat (this will cut through the silver skin and help them not to curl up). Season both sides of the pork chops generously with kosher salt, and black pepper.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is almost smoking, (you will start to see whisps) add the pork and sear for about *3-4 min on each side, or until a golden brown crust forms. (if your pork chop is 1/2 inch thick, just sear one side.) Place the pork chops on a plate to the side while you prepare the sauce. *You will finish cooking the chop in the sauce so it shouldn’t be cooked through yet.
In the same pan, add the pancetta and cook over medium heat until golden brown, remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel lined plate. Add the garlic and paprika along with a pinch of salt to the pancetta fat (add a touch more oil if needed), and let cook over medium heat until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Next add the crushed tomatoes and oregano leaves, and a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Add the pork chops to the sauce and spoon some sauce over the top. Cover the pan partially and simmer the pork chops in the sauce for about 7-9 minutes (or less if your pork chop was thin). Check and adjust the heat to make sure it doesn’t go above a simmer. The temp of the cooked chop should be 160F when you test close to the bone.
Toss the pancetta, parsley and aleppo pepper with a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
Remove the pork chops and taste the sauce adding salt if necessary. You can serve the pork chops individually or slice them against the grain on a large platter, either way top with the sauce and pancetta mixture. Enjoy!