Summer and Salad Days are on the way…but in the meantime.
Confession time: We’d been looking at a lot of very beige posts on Chewing The Fat. So when this glorious-looking salad appeared in Food and Wine, we had to make it. It’s from a recipe creator named Leah Koenig who says she eats the citrus-scallion-honey dressing straight from a spoon. It may look complicated but it’s not. I bought the ready-to-eat beets at the supermarket. I also bought a single big carrot that I made into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Then you peel the clementines, slice the radishes, salad-spin the arugula and that’s it. The toasted almonds add to the crunch and the whole salad looks gorgeous on the table. And then we made the Pork Chops.
The Honey-Chile Pork Chops take just 15 
minutes to make.
I am a big fan of Trader Joe’s Honey Sauce—or, properly, Trader Joe’s Organic Spicy Honey Sauce with Natural Chili Pepper Flavor. (It’s easy to create your own: Just add drops of Sriracha to any honey you have on hand, and you’ll get the desired effect: Sweet and spicy!). I like the heft of bone-in pork chops. Seasoned generously with salt and pepper, they become deeply golden in a cast-iron skillet. If you’re cooking for four, you repeat the process and 
keep the chops warm in a 200F degree oven. The honey-chile pan sauce is simple to make—garlic, apple cider vinegar, and the honey-chile all go into the same skillet used for the chops. The garlic softens in a minute or two, and the sauce becomes a sweet, tangy glaze. Put the chops back in the pan and quickly coat them. Serve next to the salad. Here are today’s recipes.
Shaved Beet and Carrot Salad With Citrus-Scallion Dressing
A fantastically colorful salad that brightens any dinner with a punch of flavor and a glorious presentation.
Ingredients
- For the Dressing:
- 3 medium scallions, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons mild honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- For the Salad:
- 1 (5-ounce) container baby arugula
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and shaved into thin strips using a vegetable peeler (about 2 cups)
- 2 small red beets, cooked, peeled, trimmed, and quartered (about 1 cup)
- 4 medium radishes, trimmed and very thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium clementines, peeled and sliced crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped unsalted almonds, toasted
- Flaky sea salt, for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Make the dressing:
- Step 2 Pulse scallions, oil, honey, mustard, lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor until dressing is creamy and scallions are finely chopped, about 10 pulses, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Transfer to a small bowl, and set aside.
- Step 3 Make the salad
- Step 4 Arrange arugula on a large, wide salad platter. Layer with carrot strips, beets, radishes, and clementines. Scatter with almonds
- Step 5 Drizzle with 1/3 cup dressing. Garnish with flaky sea salt. Serve salad alongside remaining dressing.
Honey-Chile Pork Chops
Bone-In Pork Chops are deep-seared in a cast-iron skillet, then glazed with a sweet and spicy Honey sauce.
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons Trader Joe’s Honey Sauce with Chili Pepper Flavor
- OR 2.5 tbsp. honey and ½ tsp Sriracha (taste first!)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 3 tablespoons scallions greens, for garnish
- 4 (about 1-inch thick) bone-in pork loin rib chops (8 to 10 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 200F degrees
- Step 2 Very finely chop 4 garlic cloves and place in a small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons honey-chile sauce or your homemade version, 2 tablespoons water, 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Chop 3 tablespoons of scallion greens for garnish. Set aside scallions.
- Step 3 Pat 2 pork chops dry with a paper towel, then season all over with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
- Step 4 Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a medium regular or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the pork chops and sear until deep golden brown and at an internal temperature of 135ºF, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork chops an oven-proof plate and put them in the preheated 200-degree F. oven. Repeat with remaining pork chops.
- Step 5 On the stovetop, reduce the heat to medium-low. Scrape the honey-garlic mixture into the pan (be careful, it will bubble and steam) and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and looks glaze-y about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt as needed. Return the pork chops and any accumulated juices back to the pan, and spoon some of the glaze over the chops. Transfer to a serving plate and pour the glaze over the pork chops. Garnish with the scallions
