Pork Chops and Sweet and Sour Peppers

Looking for something a little different for a Sunday dinner?

My usual weekend plans include grand dinner plans, with involve lots of time - from the prep to the actual cooking. And then sometimes it gets to 3pm on a Sunday and you're in the middle of a netflix binge and getting up to cook a mammoth meal doesn't seem very appealing.. Well step on up. porkchops.

I am always on the lookout for quick meals and this one had been getting a lot of buzz around the internet. I am wary of “omg best recipe ever!” reviews, but this one intrigued me. I don’t eat pork chops very often, because I didn’t think they were good. It turns out, I just didn't know how to cook them well.

Turns out, you don’t have to cook them for very long at all! 3 minutes on each side, and dinner is cooked. Buttery, herby, garlicky deliciousness.

Obviously you can serve the pork chops with anything, I think they could also be delicious with some mash and roasted veggies.

Serves 4

Ingredients for the pork chops

• 4 pork chops
• Olive oil, to fry
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp thyme
• A few tsp butter

Ingredients for the peppers

• Olive oil, to fry
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 red peppers, sliced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Handful of shredded basil leaves

Method

Start with the peppers. Heat some olive oil, add the onion and peppers. Season and sprinkle over the sugar. Sauté for 5 minutes, ensure they are sizzling and stir frequently.

Add in vinegar, and let bubble for a few mins. Turn down the heat, add the EVOO, cook for 3 more minutes. Throw in the basil, cook for 1 minute more and take off the heat. Transfer to a bowl and clean out your pan.

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides, and make some thin cuts into the fatty part to ensure they don’t curl up when heated. Heat the oil in the pan, throw in the chops, garlic and thyme.

Fry 3 minutes on each side.

Towards the end of the cooking time, throw in a few knobs of butter, let melt, and baste the chops.

Place on a plate for 6 minutes, and baste with the melted butter every few minutes.

Serve on top of a bed of the pepper mixture. I added a little bit of rice because carbs.