Pork Chops Puttanesca

By Florence Fabricant

Updated June 27, 2016

  • Jason Henry for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
4(295)
Comments
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The muscular sear and smoky, crisp burnish of grilled food has immense appeal. But achieving it requires time and attention to hot coals. The grill master may scoff, but I have increasingly come to rely on my oven, sealing the deal with a slow bake after a quick sizzle atop the grill or stove. That’s how I made these pork chops, with their lusty Neapolitan topping to accompany a sturdy aglianico. The slow cooking gently brings the meat to tenderness, guarding its juices. It also grants the cook nearly an hour to assemble the rest of the dinner, and what does the grill master know about that? (You might consider moving the meat away from the fire and covering the grill, but the temperature will not be as consistent and will require monitoring.) Penne or other modest macaroni dressed with just olive oil and chile flakes is excellent alongside, to share the sauce with the meat.

Featured in: Pork Chops With a Lusty Neapolitan Topping

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 3 cloves garlic, divided

  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano

  • ½ teaspoon crushed red chile flakes

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

  • 4 12-ounce rib pork chops, preferably heritage, about 1 ¼-inch thick

  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped

  • 8 ounces ripe tomatoes, finely chopped

  • 4 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and mashed

  • 2 tablespoons pitted oil-cured black olives, chopped

  • ½ tablespoon capers in vinegar, drained

  • 1 ½ tablespoons golden raisins

  • ½ cup dry red wine

  • 1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves, minced

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

9 grams carbs; 238 milligrams cholesterol; 710 calories; 18 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 39 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 517 milligrams sodium; 73 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Mash 1 clove garlic with dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon chile flakes and salt to a paste in a mortar. Stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil and the vinegar. Spread this mixture on both sides of the pork. Set aside. Heat grill. Heat oven to 225 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Heat remaining oil in a small skillet, add onion and sauté until translucent. Mince remaining garlic and stir in. Add tomatoes, anchovies, remaining chile flakes, olives, capers and raisins. Stir in wine and cook on low until mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Grill pork close to source of heat, turning once, until nicely browned but not cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. (You can also cook the chops in a grill pan or skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes per side). Transfer pork to a baking dish, slather with tomato mixture and place in oven for 45 minutes for medium, longer for more well done. Arrange pork on a serving platter, spoon any pan juices over it, scatter with oregano and serve.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
295 user ratings
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Comments

SonomaSMB

I seared the chops on a grill pan, and they did NOT look anemic. The photo is terrible, but mine looked great.
Finished beautifully in the oven.
Sauce was wonderfully flavorful. Another winner from Florence.

Marqua1

You should make twice as much sauce as is called for here. Really.

Jjwhite

We cooked this for dinner, and the only thing I changed was the oven temp. 225 seemed too low so I raised it to 350. The pork was perfectly cooked and my wife and I loved it.

KitchenWitchoftheWest

Used green olives and thinner chops baked about 20 minutes after browning in a skillet. Really good! You can freeze the leftover anchovies from the opened can. In a pinch, use fish sauce instead.

Craig Pinhey

I'm adding toasted pine nuts at the end as I always love them in my puttanescus. Also subbbign some Worcestershire sauce for anchovies for umami. :)

andrew

So frustrating when they say degrees and don’t specify Celsius or Fahrenheit. Almost burnt the crap out of these chops. There are 3 countries on the planet that use the Imperial measurement system guys.

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