Pork Chops with Herby Vegetables
Here, fatty pork chops are served with a beautiful ratatouille-like vegetable mix that features a mountain of freshly chopped herbs.
Servings 4
Calories 721kcal
Ingredients
For the herby vegetables
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 1 red bell pepper diced 1cm
- 1 medium courgette diced 1cm
- 1 medium aubergine diced 1cm
- 3 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed with a garlic press
- 1 tsp dried tarragon (or 1 TB freshly chopped)
- 50 g no-sugar added ketchup
- generous handful fresh basil leaves finely sliced (approx. 7g / 12 leaves)
- generous handful fresh parsley leaves finely chopped (approx. 5g)
Forthe pork chops
- 4 pork chops (approx. 170-190g each)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- drizzle olive oil
Instructions
- Melt the butter in your largest non-stick pan or wok over high heat. Once foaming, add the diced red pepper, courgette and aubergine and toss to coat in the butter. Stir continuously for 6-7 minutes until the vegetables start to soften and caramelise. Season with salt and pepper, then add the tomatoes, garlic and dried tarragon and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Next, add the ketchup and a small dash of water, then reduce the heat to medium low. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Just before serving, stir through all the chopped herbs.
- Meanwhile, brush the pork chops lightly with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a griddle pan over high heat. Once smoking hot, cook the chops until visibly charred on all sides, approx. 6-8minutes depending on how thick they are. You may need to cook them in batches in which case you can leave the cooked ones in a warm oven (100°C, fan-assisted) until all the chops are done. Alternatively, pop them in the air-fryer (air-fryer setting, 200°C for 10-12 minutes) or grill them on the BBQ if its sunny out!
Notes
USEFUL TIPS:
- Be sure to dice the vegetables very small as this will ensure quicker, even cooking. This takes a bit of time, but its well worth the effort!
- If you cannot find dried tarragon, finely chop the leaves of a few fresh tarragon sprigs until you have approx. 1 tablespoon. Remember, dried herbs are usually more concentrated in flavour than fresh herbs. Fresh herbs will always get my vote, but they aren’t always available (and often tricky to use up), so this is a useful thing to know if your pantry is stocked with a variety of dried herbs.
- Before frying any chops, I like to initially use my tongs to position them standing up, side by side (on their fatty spines) in the hot pan or BBQ grill standing up so that this fatty end comes into direct contact with the hot pan / BBQ grill for a minute or two. This will ensure the fat crisps up beautifully.
- Skip the pork chops and serve the delicious herby vegetables with your favourite fish.
My name is Monya Kilian Palmer. If you loved this recipe, please follow and tag me @mkilianpalmer on Instagram so we can all see your lovely creations!
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Nutrition
Calories: 721kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 55g