2 thick pork chops
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. ground ginger, to taste
approx. 1 Tbsp. oil
2 firm winter pears, such as Bosc
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (optional)
1/2 -1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
approx. 2 tsp. butter (optional)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Put a little oil in a skillet, just enough for frying, and add pepper and ginger. Stir and heat gently until ginger starts to darken, then add pork chops and brown. Place in a baking dish large enough to hold chops and pears in a single layer (best if it’s a very cozy layer, though). Peel pears, cut in half and core. Place cut side up in the dish and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Put a dab of butter in the cavity of each pear. Mix cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over chops and pears. Pour vinegar over it all. Cover and bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Remove cover and cook another 10 minutes or until chops are cooked through.
Makes two servings (with lots of extra liquid that might be good for cooking rice in)
Adapted from: Cooking for two today / Jean Hewitt.
The rest of the story
I use agridouce here to connote a Euro/Western kind of sweet-and-sour that is more common in classical and medieval recipes but has almost disappeared from modern ones.
The original recipe called for dry sherry, but I don't usually care for any kind of wine in my food (it's rotten grape juice, after all, and no matter how carefully it's been rotted, it still tastes like rotten grape juice to me and you're welcome to it). Usually I substitute an appropriate broth, but this time I didn't have any on hand; what I did have was a nice bottle of balsamic vinegar. So I thought, same stuff fermented with a different yeast, that's all, and tried it.
This also works with thinner chops, but you'll need to adjust the cooking time. It's really best with 1-inch, bone-in chops, but quite forgiving. Don't use Bartlett-type eating/dessert pears, they go to mush when baked.
A couple of other little caveats:
- 3 Tbsps looks like a LOT of sugar, but use it all for your first attempt; if it really comes out too sweet you can cut it back next time, but you've got all that vinegar to balance.
- Be careful taking the lid off, and even just opening the oven; there's a wave of vinegar steam lying in wait to attack your eyeballs and sinus membranes if you give it half a chance!
Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.
