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Life gets hectic sometimes. I passed the final exam for an important designation for my job last month. Studying these last few months was exhausting and extremely stressful. Within days of passing that last exam, I went to a work-related conference out of town. I was so busy at the conference that I barely had enough time to sleep. My diet suffered, too. I did my best to have all the bases covered, but the last day I was there, I am certained I got glutened. I was awake most of the night with severe stomach pain. By the time I returned home, I felt exhausted. Completely exhausted. It's taken me quite some time to recover, but I feel like I'm finally beginning to get some of my energy back. Lesson learned is that it is important to take time out for yourself when you need it.
Blackberries are in season now, and I found myself inspired to do something with the pork chops I thawed out this week. Blackberries have lots of these pesky little seeds, though, so something would need to be done with those. I thought if I warmed up the berries and strained the resulting liquid, I could create a sauce. The creative juices were finally flowing after such a long drought.
Served on a bed of radish greens, these pork chops are a little bit tart, a little bit sweet and completely yumtastic. Plus, there is bacon. And bacon always wins.
Ingredients
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of salt
10 black peppercorns
½ teaspoon sage
½ teaspoon honey
1 pound of pork chops, about 2 to 4
1 8 oz pkg of blackberries
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
Pinch of salt
Few twists of the black pepper grinder
6 slices of bacon
Greens for plating
Directions
Make the brine by combining the water, salt, black peppercorns, sage and honey in a small saucepan. Simmer gently until the salt has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Place the pork chops in a dish and cover with the cooled brine. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Drain and pat dry before cooking.
Add just a sprinkle of salt to the chops, not much since they’ve been sitting in a salt water solution. Add some black pepper, about a few turns of the pepper grinder.
While the pork chops brine, begin the sauce. Place the blackberries and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until the berries begin to break down and create a nice sauce. Smash them with a fork if necessary.
Strain the berries through a sieve and place the liquid in a saucepan. Add the mustard, balsamic vinegar, sage leaves, pinch of salt and a few turns of the pepper grinder to the liquid. Simmer the sauce until reduced by about half.
While the sauce simmers, render the fat from the bacon slices. Set the cooked bacon aside to cool a bit. Chop up the bacon.
Saute the pork chops in the bacon fat.
Place some greens such as radish greens on a plate. Place the pork chop on top of the greens. Drizzle the sauce over the pork chop. Top with the bacon pieces.
