Braised Pork Chops With Tomatoes, Anchovies and Rosemary

- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 21½-inch-thick bone-in pork loin chops (about 1½ pounds total)
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt, more for seasoning pork
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more for seasoning pork
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 3large rosemary sprigs
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 2pounds plum tomatoes (preferably a mix of red and yellow), roughly chopped
- 6anchovy fillets
- Polenta, noodles or rice, for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse pork chops and pat dry with a paper towel. Season generously with salt and pepper. In a large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, place 1 tablespoon oil. Sear chops until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes a side. Transfer to a plate.
- Step 2
Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and sauté onion and rosemary until onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
- Step 3
Add tomatoes, anchovies and remaining salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes begin to break down, about 8 minutes.
- Step 4
Add pork chops to skillet, spooning sauce over chops. Cover skillet and transfer to oven to bake until a thermometer inserted into center of meat reads 145 degrees, about 15 minutes. Allow chops to rest for 5 minutes in pan. If desired, serve with polenta, noodles or rice to soak up sauce.
Private Notes
Comments
Great recipe, but PLEASE don't cook to 145 degrees before resting, especially if using "good" (non-factory) pork. 140 is fine; 137 is even better. Otherwise, final product can be a bit dry/tough. (But I like pork a bit pinkish.) Also, if fresh tomatoes aren't top of season, good whole canned work just fine in this -- just drain off a bit of the juice from the can.
To get the umami from the anchovies without a fishy after taste, cook them with the onions and rosemary which will break them down to invisibility. Then add the tomatoes and you'll be a happier camper. yummy dish!
I used one large (28 oz.) can of san marzano tomatoes because I didn't have enough fresh, and the recipe was delicious anyway.
This looked wonderful, but did not taste great. I expect it is something I did, such as using too much rosemary fresh from my garden or using anchovy paste instead of anchovies. I could not get these flavours to marry favourably. I even added the glug of red wine someone suggested, but it still tasted off.
No one would ever throw a dinner party and serve pork chops. When are they NOT dry and tough? Really? So, you need to go to the best butcher. And they don’t exist anymore. And most people are terrified of pork. Good luck! 🍀
This was delicious! I added a splash of white wine cuz my onions got too hot in my cast iron skillet and I also added some cooked mushrooms that I had on standbye in the fridge. Half a can of San Marzano’s was perfect for a nice saucy coat on the chops.
