Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Cream, mustard, lemon lend flavor to pork dish
Pull out your large skillet tonight if you’re up for a pork dish that comes together in minutes but has a surprisingly complex-tasting sauce.
Too often, fast-cooking recipes lack depth of flavor, because they have fewer ingredients and because quick can mean the ingredients have little time to do the things that make a dish delicious, like caramelize or blend for a more nuanced, richer taste.
This one works in part to a quick sauce — it takes about 5 minutes — that gets its depth of flavor from cream, mustard, lemon and a dash of white pepper.
The rest of the dish — which comes together in one large skillet — is easy on the cook, featuring thin-cut pork chops that finish in six to eight minutes, and sauteed onions and cabbage that require about 15 minutes total on the stove.
I found the recipe by happenstance. When Urvashi Pitre’s Easy Keto in 30 Minutes (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019) landed on my desk, I decided to look through the 100 recipes. (It took me 40 minutes to make this pork dish, but I won’t quibble.)
Pork Chops and Cabbage With Mustard Cream Sauce
4 thin center-cut boneless pork
chops (about 1 pound total) Kosher salt and ground black
pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil, divided use
½ cup finely diced onion
(about ½ large onion) 4 cups rough chopped green
cabbage (about 1 pound) 1 tablespoon butter (optional) ¾ cup heavy whipping cream 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons fresh lemon
juice
¼ teaspoon white pepper, or
to taste
Chopped fresh parsley, for
garnish Pat the pork chops dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over mediumhigh heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the chops and cook until browned on one side, about 4 minutes. Turn the chops and cook until browned on the other side, about 3 minutes. (If the chops are browning too quickly, lower the heat.) Transfer the chops to a plate and cover to keep warm. Add the onion to the skillet and stir, cooking until the onion is softened and nearly translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and cook until the cabbage is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the butter, if using, and toss to coat the cabbage. (If the chops are lean, butter will enhance the flavor.) Transfer the cabbage mixture to a serving platter and cover to keep warm.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the cream and mustard to the skillet and stir until the mustard is fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and white pepper; stir to combine.
Add the chops back to the skillet. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes, basting the chops with the sauce.
Place the chops on top of the cabbage on the serving platter. Drizzle the chops and cabbage with the remaining sauce, garnish with the parsley and serve. Makes 4 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 500 calories, 24 g protein, 38 g fat, 12 g carbohydrate (5 g sugar), 130 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium and 3 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 1.