Pork chops with cranberry apple sauce, Swiss chard and wild rice!
Hello! Lets cook some dinner. Pork chops are easy, tasty and fun to experiment with side dishes for. I like to serve them with home made apple sauce, but I always add something new. This time it's cranberries! Let's get started. This will take about 1-1.5 hours.
Stuff you will need:
I'm a big fan of "eyeballing" amounts, or adding to taste. Getting a feel for what the right amounts are without following a recipe is a great way to improve your cooking skills.
- 2-4 Pork chops, thick cut if available
- 1 Bunch Swiss chard
- 1 small onion
- 2-3 strips bacon
- 1 cup dry wild rice
- A handful of fresh or frozen cranberries
- 2 medium apples
- Apple cider vinegar
- Cooking oil
- Sugar
- Spices - Black Pepper, garlic powder, paprika, salt. Others if you wish.
Lets begin!
First, make a cup of wild rice. Two cups water, in a rice cooker or a covered sauce pot on medium-high heat. If you use a pan, it's done when it has stopped bubbling and isn't tough. If its tough, add a bit more water. You should get a rice cooker. Its not lazy, it's efficient.
Now begin chopping the apples and onion. you should have about a cup of onion and two cups of apple. Turn a cast iron or other pan on medium heat, add a small amount of oil and begin to saute the onion until translucent and beginning to brown. A few minutes should do it.
Put your chopped apples in a small sauce pan, add about a half cup of water and turn on medium-high heat.
Okay, here's the thing. We are making savory apple sauce. It's going on a savory dish. It's not the apple sauce you put on your oatmeal or feed to your cat or put in a Christmas stocking, whatever it is people do with that smooth paste you get in a jar. It may seem weird to add a few of these things, but trust me on this.
Add half of the saute onion to the simmering apples. Also add a pinch of salt, a healthy grind of black pepper, and couple pinches of garlic powder as well. If you have fresh garlic, even better. Dice two cloves fine and add it instead. Add a handful of cranberries. Not too many, as the tartness can be overwhelming. If it seems too tart later, stir in a teaspoon of sugar. This mixture will simmer through the rest of the recipe.
Now roughly chop the chard. Make the sections about 1/2-3/4 inches wide, and keep all the stems. That is where all the nutrition is. Actually I just made that up. It sounds like it could be true though.
Now slice a couple strips of bacon into small pieces, also about 1/2 inch across.
If you don't want to double pork in one dinner, dice some mushrooms instead and add a little extra salt later. Add the bacon to the remaining half of the onion, and saute till cooked through. Throw the chard on top, and add a tablespoon or three of water. Cover.
When a good bit of steam is coming off the chard, add a teaspoon of apple cder vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a good few dashes of paprika. This should be 5 minutes or so. If the apple is beginning to break down, don't forget to stir it. Mash it up a bit with your spoon or spatula.
When the chard is tender (not mushy!) drain the liquid and set aside in a bowl. Cover to keep heat in. Don't forget to keep mashing and stirring the apple sauce!
Give the pan a quick wipe with a paper towel, and add a small amount of oil. Keep at medium heat. Pop all the pork chops in.
Cover the chops. If you have thin ones, this should only take a few minutes on each side. It's important to not let them go to long, or you will be eating a leather belt. I prefer thick chops. It's just easier to keep them juicy. These ones were very thick, and took about 20 minutes total. Flip after a few when the bottom is browned, add a couple teaspoons of water and cover.
Okay, now add some soy sauce. Yup. If you have never used soy sauce on anything but takeout, this seems strange to, but soy sauce is salty and adds a savory "umami" flavor. Do it. Trust me on this.
Cover again and wait for a few more minutes. Are you still mashing and stirring the apple sauce? Good. When the chops have firmed up, but are still springy, pop them on a plate for a few minutes before serving. If you are scared of them not being done, cut one open and make sure it is still a bit pink in the center and juicy, but not translucent at all. I did this with these super thick suckers.
If you need to turn off the chops and cover while continuing to stir the apple sauce, do it. The apples should be broken down almost completely, but a little chunkiness is okay.
Now put it on a plate all pretty and eat it. Make sure to put the apple sauce on the chops.
Thanks for reading!
The End