Spring Sunday supper….
I really like pork because it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with.
I also especially love fennel, and this is the only way I can get John to enjoy it with me. The fennel gratin would go great as a side to any dish, it’s extremely flavorful.
We also share a cheese plate for dessert. Oh and the flowers on the page are actually my first flowers of spring!
Fennel Gratin – 2 servings
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1 clove garlic, halved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cups low sodium beef stock
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 cup freshly grated Pecorino
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange fennel in a small baking dish, scatter butter and garlic around fennel. Add stock and bake for about 1 hour. Remove dish from the oven, flip fennel over, put back in the oven and cook for another 30 minutes. If you aren’t serving it right away, remove from oven, otherwise continue with recipe.
Preheat the broiler, spoon cream over the fennel, sprinkle with nutmeg, and divide Pecorino onto fennel – broil until golden brown, about a minute. Season with salt and pepper, serve!
Grilled Pork Chops with Zucchini Coin Salad – 2 servings
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped dill
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/8 thick rounds
1/8 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon honey
2 pork chops, bone in or boneless
Whisk together balsamic vinegar, half the dill, 1 teaspoon salt and about 1 tablespoon of water, whisk until the salt dissolves. Place zucchini in a shallow bowl, and pour dressing over. Toss together, and marinate for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile continue to prepare the rest of the meal, and when you are ready just drain the zucchini and set aside until ready to serve.
In another bowl, combine remaining dill, Dijon, honey, and 1/4 cup water, season with salt and pepper. Set aside the sauce.
Prepare the barbecue. Season pork chops with salt and pepper, spread with half the sauce and grill. Cook until the pork chops thickest part registers at 145 degrees F. Transfer to a plate, and heat up the sauce you set aside until bubbling. Pour a bit of sauce over the pork and serve with zucchini salad.
Now I sort of have an unfair advantage, I have a 6 gas range stove top, and luckily one of those areas can be changed into a grill. So as you’ll see in the photos I’m using my indoor grill, because it was rainy and John didn’t want to barbecue.
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