Recipe: Blackened Pork Chops with Garlic Baked Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach (serves 2)

Blackened Pork Chops with Garlic Baked Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach
rec.food.cooking/Ninette R Enrique (1994)

If you use my method, you'll need an oven proof skillet, preferably cast iron. The spinach is cooked in the pork juices, which make them wonderfully flavorful. The potatoes I got off the net last spring. Thank you!

Recipe is given for 2 servings, measurements on the approximate side.
Also, this meal is on the low-fat side.

Prep time: about 1 hr., and 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

Garlic Baked Potatoes

2 Idaho potatoes
2 cloves garlic, cut in 1/2
2 tsp. oil
dried herbs (rosemary, Italian, whatever you like)
pepper
Sour cream (low-fat)

Blackened Pork Chops

3 boneless loin chops, 3/4-inch thick, trimmed of most of fat (leave a little on, you will use little fat in the actual cooking and the pork needs it to not get dry)
2 tsp. butter, melted
3-4 tbs. creole seasoning, your own, or Paul Prudhommes

Spinach

10 oz. bag fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
wine, chicken broth, or water
lemon, or lemon pepper seasoning
a little soy sauce
salt and pepper
(actually, you can use what you like, I used a dash of wine, dash of chicken broth, and a dash of aji-pon (a soy-citrus mixture)

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 deg.

Scrub potatoes. Take apple corer and "core" the potatoes, being careful not to go all the way through the potato. Save core parts. Place in each cored potato a garlic clove, cut in 1/2., 1 tsp. olive oil, a dash of herbs, and a crank of pepper. Cut 1/3-2/3rd of each core part and put back in potato to seal. Put in oven and set timer for 1 hr.

Take pork chops and coat with 2 tsp. melted butter (butter should be a little cooled before you do this). Rub 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. of seasoning on each side. Put in fridge.

Prepare spinach (rinse and chop). 1/2 hr. into cooking time, poke potatoes with a fork and push to the back of the oven, so you will have enough room to fit the skillet with the pork chops in later.

20 minutes b/fore potatoes are due to be done, heat cast iron skillet til almost smoking. Reduce oven heat to 400 deg. When hot enough, add pork chops. Sear 1-2 minutes on each side. Place skillet in oven. Reset timer to 10 min.

Mince garlic for spinach. Have all your seasonings for spinach ready. Get out an oven-proof pan or sheet you can place the pork chops on.

Five minutes before the timer will go off, take out the skillet and put it on a burner. Turn on the burner to med-high heat. Transfer pork chops to pan and place back in the oven.

If you need a little more fat in the pan, add some oil. Add garlic and saute 30 sec. (don't let it burn). Add about 2 tbs. of liquid (wine, water, broth) to deglaze pan a little. Add spinach. Cover til the spinach starts to wilt.

Uncover, and keep turning, until all of spinach wilts. In final minutes of cooking add seasoning to taste, and a little lemon and soy sauce if you like.

Don't overcook the spinach. It should still have a bright green color.

Timer should go off when the spinach is about done. Plate and serve.

Delicious!