Cherry Braised Pork Chops

with thyme
Originally uploaded by EatingVideo

This is a variation of the jam braised pork chops, but instead with fresh cherries and thyme as the main flavoring. I had about 2 cups of cherries in the fridge that where starting to loose their firmness so I decided to cook them for dinner. I pitted them by cutting them in half and removing the stone.



I pureed half of them (one cup) with a hand blender, with a quarter cup of white wine, half and onion, a clove of garlic and a pinch of salt.



I then sauteed the remaining half an onion with another clove of garlic and some guanciale till soft.





I then removed the onion, garlic and guancialle leaving just a bit of fat behind and seared the pork chops in the same pan.



As is usual I was flying by the seat of my pants and had not planned any specific side dish, I was about to send out my wife for some spinach when the door rang and the neighbor dropped off two big bunches of asparagus



I put it in a microwave safe bowl, sprinkled with fleur de sel (salt), olive oil and a teaspoon of water. I microwaved it a minute at a time till they where steamed and crisp (less than 3min)



When the porkchops where well browned on both sides, I removed them and deglazed the pan with the pureed cherry mix



I let the liquid reduce a bit then returned the porkchops, onions and garlic and added the remaining cherries



This cooked for another ten minutes or so and then I added fresh thyme over top



The dish was well received by the family, the fresh thyme adds great aroma and earthiness to an already very rustic dish. I thought the cherries were very good, not too sweet and the sauce was great. Thanks to the neighbors for the unexpected veg delivery.