Make these glorious Pork Chops and surprising salad once…and it won’t be the last time. Guaranteed.
What a wonderful surprise this recipe is! Gorgeous, big, bone-in Pork Chops are butter-basted and emerge from a cast-iron skillet looking like Porterhouse steaks. They’re accompanied by a crisp and crunchy full-of-flavor salad of celery, parsley, almonds and shaved Parmesan cheese. There’s a not a carbohydrate on the plate but you won’t miss them. The other surprise is how quickly and easily you can put this dinner together. Andrew had a meeting that ran past 8 o’clock last week. We’d pre-arranged his calling me the minute he left. I started dinner and by the time he got home a half-hour later, dinner was done. Another masterpiece from Adam Rapoport, the Editor of Bon Appetit.
Meet the Editor who literally changed the direction of a 64-year-old magazine
Every year of Rapoport’s tenure, the magazine has just gotten better and better. It’s highly readable and its flood of recipes has inspired me time after time. This post marks the 30th recipe from Adam’s tenure–which is exactly as long as Chewing The Fat has been in existence. I’ve only met Adam once and briefly at that. But our paths could have crossed a lot earlier. He was in my son’s class at Berkeley. Adam’s career began in food as an Editor and Writer for the James Beard Foundation. He then became the Restaurant editor for Time Out New York. Then his career took him to Conde Nast where he was more familiar with Fashion Week than food. He was the Style Editor of GQ magazine. Bon Appetit had been based in Los Angeles under the aegis of one Barbara Fairchild. When the magazine was moved to New York, Ms. Fairchild resigned and Mr. Rapoport took over. And he’s been making an impact ever since.
Bon Appetit’s Vow to take better care of the planet
Just last month, Rapoport announced changes to Bon Appetit. He went public with the magazine’s commitment to the environment on all fronts. Every food scrap in its test kitchen will be composted. Plastic has been reduced and wax paper has replaced plastic wrap. Bigger still is the magazine’s commitment to making 30 percent of its recipes meatless. And where earthly possible, every ingredient will be organic and sustainable. And for those of us Omnivores, Bon Appetit has pledged support for organic, local, pastured and grass-fed meat, and sustainable seafood. Summing it all up, Rapoport wrote: “We think it’s time for a conversation about how we can all take better care of the planet, and our kitchens seem like a great place to start.”
Your own Kitchen is a great place to start. Ours is too.
We couldn’t agree more. We couldn’t put it any better. We’re consciously doing everything we can to use biodegradables, to cook
all that’s in the vegetable drawer, to be conscious of leftovers. And now, we can even compost in our giant apartment building. See if you can where you live. And if you need any further assurance that Adam’s Bon Appetit “will still deliver delicious recipes and fun, engaging content”, just make these phenomenal pork chops and celery salad and you’ll know all is right at Bon Appetit. Here’s the recipe and some other hits from the magazine.
ADAM RAPOPORT'S PORK CHOPS WITH CELERY AND ALMOND SALAD
Butter-basted Bone-In Pork Chops are paired with a crunchy, crisp Celery and Almond Salad for a wonderfully quick and fulfilling dinner.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
- 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 (1 1/2″-thick) bone-in pork rib chops (about 1 pound each), patted dry
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 6 large or 8 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced on a diagonal
- 1/2 cup parsley leaves with tender stems
- 1/4 cup chopped salted, dry-roasted almonds
- 1 ounce Parmesan, shaved
- Kosher salt
Directions
- Step 1 Combine cranberries and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
- Step 2 Season pork generously with salt, then rub with 1 Tbsp. oil total. Heat a dry medium skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium. Cook pork chops, moving once or twice to hotter areas of skillet, until first side is deeply browned, 6–9 minutes. Turn pork chops and cook until second sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Working one at a time, set chops on fatty side with tongs to melt and brown fat cap, about 1 minute each. At this point an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of each chop should register 135°F.
- Step 3 Add thyme, garlic, and butter to skillet and swirl to melt butter. Tilt skillet toward you so butter pools in the pan and spoon foaming butter over chops continuously until butter is browned, about 1 minute. Transfer pork chops, thyme, and garlic to a cutting board and let meat rest while you assemble the salad.
- Step 4 Combine shallot and a couple of pinches of salt in a large bowl. Pour vinegar from reserved cranberries into bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually add remaining 3 Tbsp. oil. Add cranberries, celery, parsley, almonds, Parmesan, and several pinches of salt. Toss to combine.
- Step 5 Cut along bones to remove meat from pork chop. Slice meat 1/2″ thick. Transfer meat and bones to a platter along with garlic and thyme, then drizzle any accumulated juices left on cutting board over top. Serve with salad.
