Pork Chop and Beans

Serving: 2 entrees

 

Ingredients:

 

Pork Chops

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

2 – 1 1/2″ thick bone-in pork rib chops (approximately 16 ounces each) 

 

Salt 

 

Freshly ground pepper

 

2 cloves of garlic, peeled, grated or pressed

 

Beans

3 cups (approximately 31 ounces) cooked and drained Cannelli beans

 

1 large bunch of Kale, washed and deveined (approximately 4 cups of kale stripped off the veins and roughly chopped 

 

8″ dried whole chili guajillo Nuevo Mexico pepper

 

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

1 cup sweet onion, peeled and minced

 

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

 

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

 

1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

 

1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock

 

2 tablespoons crisp, chopped bacon

 

1 tablespoon chopped curly leaf parsley

 

 

Directions: 

 

Bring 2 cups cold water to a boil.  Remove from heat. 

 

Remove stem and seeds from chili guajillo. 

 

Add chili guajillo to hot water. 

 

Cover with a tight fitting lid and allow to steep for 20 minutes. 

 

Drain and discard water. 

 

Roughly chop chili. 

 

Heat skillet over medium heat. 

 

When skillet is hot add olive oil. 

 

When oil shimmers, add onion.

 

Sprinkle with salt.

 

Saute onion until transparent.  Do not brown. 

 

Add sauted onions and chopped chili to beans in a large saucepan.

 

Place kale in skillet. 

 

Add broth and cover with a tight fitting lid. 

 

Simmer until slightly limp. 

 

Use tongs to remove kale from skillet and place in a bowl. 

 

Add lemon juice and paprika to beans. 

 

Add black pepper to beans to taste. 

 

Salt and pepper all sides, top and bottom of each pork chop. 

 

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. 

 

Melt butter in skillet. 

 

Add pork chops to cast iron skillet. 

 

Fry, for approximately 1 minute,  pork chops until the bottom side is crusty and brown.

 

Use tongs to turn each pork chop over. 

 

Fry until this side is crusty and brown. 

 

Use tongs to hold each pork chop on its sides until all sides are crusty and brown. 

 

Pork chops are done when they reach 165 F. 

 

Remove chops to serving platter and tent with tin foil. 

 

Reduce heat to low.  Add grated or pressed garlic to butter in the cast iron skillet.  Saute until garlic is fragrant.  Do not brown.

 

Remove foil tent and pour garlic butter evenly over chops.  Tent chops again. 

 

Add kale to beans. 

 

Heat beans and kale. 

 

Remove tenting. 

 

Arrange beans and kale misture between and on top of pork chops. 

 

Garnish with bacon and chopped parsley. 

 

Serve.