I had a couple of chops in the refrigerator that I picked up at the butchers the other day. Nice thick free range chops. We don't eat red meat very often, so when we do I like to make sure it's the good stuff.
And of course because it costs more I like to prepare it in a tasty way. I would hate to ruin any of it. It goes without saying that I have my favorite chef's when it comes to tasty recipes. Delia Smith and Mary Berry for baked stuff . . . Gary Rhodes, Jamie Oliver . . . and Nigel Slater when it comes to everything else. I also like a little bit of Bill Granger thrown into the mix. All great.
You can keep Gordon Ramsay and the rest. Their work doesn't really appeal to me. Of course my all time favorite is Nigel Slater (as I have told you before, I know.) I can't stress it enough . . . he cooks like I do and he cooks like I want to eat.
His recipes are so basically good that you can use them as a basis for other things. For instance today with these chops. His recipe looked fabulous, but I didn't exactly have everything he was calling for . . . so I took his basic premise . . . and I switched it up with what I did have to hand.
I didn't have any cream and so I thought about what I might have that was in the fridge and that would give the same rich and creamy result and I came up with Herb and Garlic Boursin cheese. It worked perfectly. Of course it is a little more solid than cream and so I added some chicken stock to slacken the sauce a bit . . .
My cornichons had baby pearl onions in the jar and so I threw in a handful of them as well. Magnifico! What a beautiful sauce! It went beautifully with these chops and with the mash. It was mellow with just a bit of a bite and some lovely crunch and tartness from the cornichons, which went beautifully with the pork and the mustard . . . and of course the boursin cheese made for a bit of richness which was just wonderful.
I ended up with a fabulously delicious supper dish for two. You could easily multiply this up to larger amounts. I do hope you will give them a try. Bon Appetit!
*Mustard and Garlic Sauced Chops*
Serves 2 Printable Recipe
Inspired by a Nigel Slater recipe, necessity being the mother of invention. He was my muse . . .
2 large thick free range good quality pork chops, rind removedbut with a healthy layer of fat on the outer edge1 TBS butter1 TBS olive oil2 large unpeeled cloves of garlic, mashed lightlyfine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste6 fluid ounces of white wine6 TBS garlic and herb boursin cheese1 heaped TBS of smooth Dijon mustard1 heaped TBS of grainy Dijon mustard8 cornichons, chopped coarselyabout 4 pickled onions from the cornichon jar if you have thema splash of good quality chicken stock, if needed
(Look at that moist chop!! Soooooo good with that sauce!)
Clip the fatty edge at 1/2 inch intervals and then season the chops all over with salt and black pepper, rubbing it into the chops well. Heat the butter and oil together over medium high heat in a shallow skillet. Once the butter begins to foam, add the garlic and the seasoned chops. Brown on the one side, then flip them over and brown them on the other side. Lower the heat to low and continue to cook, turning them once for about 8 to 10 minutes longer, until the chops are no longer pink in the middle. Remove to a dish and keep warm.
Pour off most of the fatty residue in the skillet, leaving as much brown drippings as you can. Add the white wine and bring to the boil. Boil for about 2 minutes, reducing it somewhat and scraping up any pork drippings. Whisk in the mustards and boursin cheese, whisking constantly, until you have a nice thick sauce. If it is too thick, thin with a bit of chicken stock. Stir in the cornichons and pickled onions if you have them. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Pour the sauce over the chops and serve immediately.
This goes fabulously with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable if desired.
Note: Cutting the fatty edge of the pork chops at regular intervals helps them to lay flat when you are cooking them, and allows for a much more even colouring when you are browning them!
