I don't tend to eat pork very often, but they had packs of boneless pork chops on sale the other day, so I grabbed one on spec. I knew I still had lots of pork recipes waiting to be tried, so it would definitely get used eventually. Then I forgot to cancel or tweak last week's produce basket and we ended up with a surprise leek. And that fit into this braised pork chop recipe very nicely!

The recipe as written calls for port, but I didn't want to go out and get a whole bottle just for the 1/4 c. that I needed for the sauce. So I just added a bit of brown sugar to some red wine and called it a day. (I probably should have gotten the port, since I have other recipes that call for it and I'm sure it would've gotten used up eventually, but I was running short on time and just went with the substitute this time around.)

Braised Pork Chops with Cherries and Leeks

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1kg pork chops (pref. bone-in)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 Tbsp. dried rosemary, ground)
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 2 leeks, white parts only, halved and sliced
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 1/4 c. port
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 c. fresh pitted cherries, halved (or 1/2 c. dried cherries)
• 1-2 tsp. cornstarch (optional)

Directions

1. Season the pork chops with salt, pepper, and rosemary.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter over medium heat.
3. Add the pork chops and sear on both sides.
4. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
6. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.
7. Add the chicken stock and deglaze the pan.
8. Add the port, vinegar, and cherries.
9. Return the pork to the pan. Nestle it into the sauce and spoon the leeks and cherries over.
10. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
11. Simmer until pork is cooked through (15-20 minutes).
12. If you would like a thicker sauce: remove the pork from the pan and sift some cornstarch into the sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened.
13. Serve the pork chops topped with the sauce. Goes well with mashed root vegetables.