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Every now and then I can use some pork chops on our menu. In the past I often overcooked the pork chops. So tough and you can hit someone on the head with it and resulted in some injury (not a good thing!). So, now I tried to sear (I love the word “sear”), in which you quickly brown the meat on the outside to seal in the juice and then finish off the cooking in the oven. It resulted in a much more tender pork chops. So you have a cooked pork chops (but not overcooked if you get what I mean) but still tender and juicy on the inside. Unlike beef, I do not want my pork chops to be medium or medium rare. So, make sure the pork is cooked through but still juicy 😉 I also like to pair meat with some mushrooms. Such a terrific combination I think. The yogurt-mint sauce really kick this dish up a notch too. My husband couldn’t have enough of the sauce. He ate the sauce and I ate all the pork chops (just kidding! or not!)
PORK CHOPS WITH MUSHROOMS, ZUCCHINI, AND YOGURT-MINT SAUCE
Ingredients
- About 2 lbs of about 3/4-inch pork chops
- 1 lb of wild mushrooms (cleaned and cut into slices)
- 1 large zucchini (don't peel and cut into 2-inch sticks)
- 1 cup of fresh mint leaves and more for garnish
- 3 Tbsp of cognac
- 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter
- 1 large garlic cloves (crushed)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
Yogurt-mint sauce (yield about 1 cup):
- 1 cup of plain yogurt
- 1 Tbsp of finely chopped fresh mint leaves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp sugar
- Dash of freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides. Use half of the mint leaves and finely chopped it and sprinkle on top of the pork chops. Melt the butter on a large saucepan. Add in the garlic and saute until really fragrant and started to brown. Add in the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes. Splash in the cognac and the rest of the mint leaves and cook for about 5 minute on low heat. Keep it warm while preparing the pork chops
- Preheat a large skillet until it is really hot (we want to sear the pork chop on the outside), add in the olive oil. Gently place 2-3 pork chops on the skillet (you may need to do this in batches) and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Repeat this with the rest of the pork chop and add some oil if needed. Place the pork chops on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil to keep it warm. While searing the pork chops, place some of the zucchini into the same skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, until tender but still a bit crunchy and transfer to a plate. Place the pork chops in the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the pork is cooked through and no runny pink juice. Cover with aluminum foil and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving
- When ready to serve, place the pork chops on a plate, portion out the zucchini and the mushrooms on the side. Garnish with some fresh mints and serve with the yogurt-mint sauce on the side
