A tomato and pancetta salad sitting pretty atop expertly fried pork chops makes for a very friendly dinner indeed, whether you are dining alone or catering to a party of ten.
Pancetta is a cured meat, made from unsmoked pork belly, and you'll either find it thinly sliced or cubed. It is most certainly not bacon, though you can use it as such in cooking - to form the base of a soup or risotto, or you can sauté it with garlic and onions and add a simple fried egg.
You can line muffin cups with thin-sliced pancetta, but we are getting carried away with ourselves and dreaming up recipes that we have not even created yet! Just read the package to find out what you are getting. Is it only meat and salt, perhaps some spices too? Or is there added sweetener and preservatives? The bottom line, choose the best you can find, and you cannot go wrong.
If you ever find yourself with too much pancetta at once, this is a really wonderful problem to have(!); go ahead and make a tray of baked eggs with pancetta and mushrooms for breakfast.
You will be happy and content, if you happen to have guests, then they will be well fed and think of you as a surprisingly good cook - and you can go about your day filled with plenty of energy, enough to conquer the world, or at least the laundry.
Pork Chops With Tomato-Pancetta Salad Recipe
Serves: 4 Prep: 15 min Cook: 20 min
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 boneless pork chops
- 5 to 6 oz. pancetta, diced
- 1 lb. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp. fresh basil, plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. cooking fat
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Cook the pancetta until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes; add the onion and garlic, and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, basil, and dried oregano, and cook for 2 minutes longer.
- Drizzle the balsamic vinegar, season to taste, give everything one last stir and set aside.
- Season the pork chops on both sides to taste.
- Heat cooking fat over medium-high heat and cook the pork chops for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until no longer pink in the center.
- Let the pork chops rest for about 2 minutes, and serve topped with the tomato-pancetta mixture and more basil.
📖 Recipe
Pork Chops With Tomato-Pancetta Salad
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 boneless pork chops
- 5 to 6 oz. pancetta diced
- 1 lb. cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 1 onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp. fresh basil plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. cooking fat
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.2 tbsp. olive oil
- Cook the pancetta until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes; add the onion and garlic, and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes.5 to 6 oz. pancetta, 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves
- Add the tomatoes, basil, and dried oregano, and cook for 2 minutes longer.1 lb. cherry or grape tomatoes, 1 tbsp. fresh basil, 1 tsp. dried oregano
- Drizzle the balsamic vinegar, season to taste, give everything one last stir and set aside.2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Season the pork chops on both sides to taste.Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Heat cooking fat over medium-high heat and cook the pork chops for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until no longer pink in the center.2 tbsp. cooking fat, 4 to 6 boneless pork chops
- Let the pork chops rest for about 2 minutes, and serve topped with the tomato-pancetta mixture and more basil.
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