Moroccan Pork Chops

Love, love LOVE this recipe!! We have had this a few times before and it never gets old. I was even a little sad when I took my last bite because it meant that there was no more. It definitely tastes very Mediterranean, and it is like a flavor explosion when you take a bite. The combination of the bitterness of the vinegar and olives paired with the sweetness of the raisins and brown sugar leaves you wanting more.

It is also another very inexpensive dinner! Pork chops do not cost much at all, and we still had two leftover from last week (see: Mushroom Pork Chops) that I had frozen. Most of the rest of the ingredients are probably things that you already have around your kitchen! It also does not take much time at all to put together and is very easy. Just be careful when you pour the vinegar into the skillet - it will steam up and the vinegar steaming kind of burned the inside of my nose and my eyes! 

The cookbook has a side note saying that soaking the raisins rehydrates them prior to cooking, making them plump and juicy, which they definitely were! You can also substitute the white balsamic vinegar with regular balsamic. I even used red wine vinegar tonight because that is what I had in the kitchen and it tasted fantastic!

استمتع

("Enjoy" in Arabic, the official language of Morocco)

Moroccan Pork Chops

Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner

Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2007.

Total time: 20 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

Sauce

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup raisins

2 shallots

1/4 cup pimento-stuffed green olives

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp capers

Rice

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup uncooked basmati rice

2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley

Pork

4 boneless pork loin chops, cut 1/2 in. thick (4-6 oz)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp olive oil

1. To start, pour vinegar into Prep Bowl; microwave on high 1 minutes. Add raisins; set aside to soak. To start rice, combine water and salt in Saucepan; bring to a boil. Add rice; cover and simmer over low heat 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat.

2. For pork, season pork with salt and black pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Add oil to (10-in.) Skillet; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add pork; cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from Skillet.

3. Meanwhile, to finish sauce, chop shallots and olives using Food Chopper. Reduce heat to medium. Add shallots to Skillet; cook and stir until golden. Add raisin mixture; simmer 1 minute or until liquid is slightly reduced. Stir in olives, sugar and capers. Simmer 2 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken.

4. Add pork chops to sauce; simmer gently 3-5 minutes or internal temperature reaches 155°F, turning pork chops to coat well with sauce. Remove from heat (temperature will rise to 160°F).

5. To serve, snip parsley using Kitchen Shears. Stir parsley into rice. Divide rice among serving plates; top with pork and sauce.