Mustard Pork Chops

Perfect Pairing:  Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Pecans

When I ran across Nigella Lawson’s Mustard Pork Chops recipe I knew I needed to make it pronto.  It is a great cold weather dish with few ingredients that comes together in minutes.  

I made just a few changes to the original recipe.  I used three pork chops instead of two, and seasoned them with salt and pepper before searing in the pan.  Before deglazing the pan I added one sliced onion and cooked until soft and caramelized, then added the sauce ingredients (hard cider, mustard, and a touch of cream).  I bumped up the amounts of mustard and cider to make a little more sauce.

Nigella recommended serving the chops with gnocchi.  Of course you could keep the prep super simple and use store-bought gnocchi, or you could make your own!  I had always wanted to make gnocchi so this seemed like the perfect time.  I used this sweet potato gnocchi recipe from Richard Blais (Top Chef and Food Network fame).  I followed the gnocchi prep only and used the pork chop sauce to top it off.  I will definitely make these again and use the full recipe with the brown butter sauce because that sounds fantastic. 

They ended up being pretty easy to make and kind of fun!  I found that a bench scraper was the best tool for the job.

To round out the meal I roasted brussels sprouts (using this method, minus the vinegar) and tossed in handfuls of pecans and dried cranberries for the last few minutes in the oven.  Pretty and yummy.

It was a pretty fantastic meal!

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