What happens when your Cuban-Spanish hubby abides by your vegetable eating habits day after day?
A darn gone crazy hankering for animal meat is what happens. That's how he woke up this past Sunday morning. With meat on the brain and a little piggy whispering in his ear. Immediate attention needed to be paid. So no time was wasted. We hopped into the car with a serious plan to calm the urge. Luckily for us one of the best places 'round these parts to buy good meat is literally down the street at our local Italian market. We love their fresh, top quality products, but truly despise the lines and long wait. Efficiency is not their strong suit. Quality is, so we wait.
With carrots, celery, tomatoes and the all important pork chops in hand, we headed home. JuanCarlos' plan was to make a pot full of pork goodness to fill his belly aching. The ingredients might be familiar as this dish employs the same basic premise as Osso Bucco, or stew or any slow cooked one pot meal. The art of cooking it a long time allows all the flavors to melt down into magic. It is an easy, cut 'em up, cook 'em, one pot wonder.
In true team sport form, JC and I took turns prepping the dish and taking the pictures. So enjoy both our hands in the shots. It was a fun way to start our Sunday together. This recipe makes enough for 6-8, so super good fortune that my sister was coming for a few days. Tasty pork chops for lunch and dinner.
Ingredients
2 racks of pork chops
2 large onions, cut in thirds
3-4 carrots, large dice
3-4 celery stalks, thick slices
5-7 Campari tomatoes, cut in half
3 garlic, smashed and chopped
1 c fresh parsley, rough chop
1 c San Marzano whole tomatoes
8 oz water
3/4 bottle wine (Red and/or White)
1/4 c fresh sage, rough chop
Magic 3 (olive oil, salt, pepper)
Instructions
Prep all your ingredients. Add oil to the large dutch oven or heavy duty pot and toss all the vegetables in (onions, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh tomatoes). Sauté all them for 5-7 minutes.
Season the pork with salt and pepper and sage.
Once the vegetables have softened slightly, add the canned tomatoes, wine and water then nestle the pork in this flavor filled bath. Add the chopped parsley. Raise the heat and let it come to a boil. Once at a full boil, cover with the lid remove from the stove top and place in a 325 degree oven for 2 - 2.5 hours.
The vegetables will get soft and almost dissolve to become part of the rich and sweet tasting sauce.
The pork will be fork tender. You can serve it family style in a large platter floating among all the vegetables and juices.
Or plate it up with a side of greens such as broccoli rabe, or broccolini.
For a starch, go ahead and make some pappardelle or mashed potatoes. This is a hearty, rich dish and it deserves to be adorned properly.
I sound like a broken record but this is an ideal dish to make for a dinner party as it feeds a hungry group. Can be made ahead and will be loved by all. And if you need an alternative to lamb for Easter meal, maybe give this a go. It will resolve any need for a belly full of pork.
