Pork Loin Chops with a Sizzlin' Cherry Sauce
4 pork LOIN chops. 6 – 8 oz each. Trim the fat off the sides.
5 Tbl of shallots, minced
½ cup of chicken broth (with no sugar)
1 can (15 oz) of tart cherries packed in water. If you cannot get the ones packed in water be sure to rinse them very well, drain, and then add a ¼ cup of water to the pan to make up for the juices missing.
A pinch of cinnamon (or to taste)
A pinch or two of cayenne (or to taste)
2 tsp of balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp of Truvia. You can add a bit more of you like, but once you are used to less sugar in your food you won’t need it.
olive oil spray
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For the sauce:
Spray a medium sauce pan and put in the shallots. Cook on medium just to loosen them. Add all of the ingredients except for the loin chops and keep cooking on medium to meld the flavors. Toward the end I used my wooden spoon to break up some of the cherries so they made a mushier sauce. I left most of them whole, though. I cooked this about 10 minutes.
For the chops:
In an ovenproof pan* (like a cast iron one), spray and set the heat on medium high. Put your chops in. Spray the tops of the chops and sprinkle on grated sea salt and pepper. Saute the one side for three minutes. Flip them over and season the other side. Then put them in your 400 degree oven to roast for about 15 minutes more or until your meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. That will leave them lightly pink in the middle and juicy. If you want to cook them more well-done, I’ll leave that up to you.
*if you don’t have cast iron you’ll have to take the chops out of your saute pan and put them in another oven–proof container; like Pyrex. If you don’t, you’ll ruin your pan by melting it in a very hot oven. I highly suggest you buy a cast iron saute pan. They are inexpensive, last forever and work great for dishes like this. I use mine almost every day.
Spoon the sauce over the loin chops and serve with salad greens. I actually skipped dessert the first time I made this. I felt quite satisfied.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola
