Fennel Crusted Pork Chops

I know. I know. I know. Fennel and roasting things in cast-iron doesn’t exactly scream SUMMER!!11!, but people stand in line for ice cream in the winter. Therefore, I can do what I want. Especially when it comes to eating pork chops. Logic.

One-pan dinners are equal parts a thing of beauty and elusive in this house. I can’t even make a stir-fry with one dish. Breakfast scramble? Probably not. Thankfully, I don’t mind the clean up, but I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the idea of a single meal in a single pan.

Unrelated: I still can’t get a good season on my cast iron skillet. It doesn’t matter if I cook a lot in it. It doesn’t matter if I rub oil on it and let it bake in the oven. I never use soap. It just doesn’t like me. I struggle with this time and time again. After each unsuccessful attempt, the pan gets relegated back to the cupboard where it sits for months until I try again and get frustrated. Do you have any tips?

The marinade time for the pork was supposed to be 30 minutes. I don’t think mine lasted quite that long. I didn’t time it, but I left it alone for as long as it took me to prep the other ingredients. You’ll also see I bought parsley for once. When a recipe so liberally uses it on the finished product I try to acquiesce. It is usually worth it.

This sear and roast method yielded a very tender pork chop thanks to using bone-in pork chops. I’m also now a slave to my meat thermometer. The finished product not only tastes better, but is more consistent. I’m starting to wonder how I ever lived without it.

The only thing I didn’t do with this recipe, and someday that will change, is getting some hot smoked Spanish paprika. I used normal paprika, which is good, but just not the same. I need to get some. I have a real life paella pan now. It’s the least I could do for the pan.

As an aside, if you sprinkle those potatoes in bit of that paprika you won’t be bummed. Roasted potatoes are elevated by the extra spice + rendered pork fat.

Inspiration: Bon Appétit

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 1″ thick bone-in pork chops
• 1lb small Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
• 2 large [or 4 small] shallots, quartered
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 450°. Toast the fennel seeds in a dry skillet. Mix together in a small bowl with the garlic, paprika, and two tablespoons oil.  Smother the two pork chops in the fennel mixture. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Quarter your potatoes and shallots if you haven’t yet.

In a 9″ cast-iron pan, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil to medium high. Sear the pork chops on each side until brown. The first side should take bout 4-5 minutes. When you flip the pork chops, nestle the potatoes and shallots in and around the pork chops. Stir to coat in the rendered pork fat. Season the whole pan liberally with salt and pepper. Stir the potatoes at least once before the other side of the pork chop is browned.

Place the cast-iron pan into the preheated oven. The thickest part of the pork chop needs to be about 135°. This should take between 10-15 minutes. If the potatoes aren’t finished when the pork is, remove the pork and set it aside under some foil to rest. Remove the pan when the potatoes are done. Add the pork back if you’ve removed it. sprinkle with the parsley and drizzle in the red wine vinegar.

Let the pork rest for five minutes before serving.