I came up with this recipe after a weekly visit to my local farmers market. The pork chops in their meat case were two inches thick and completely irresistible. Some hearty root veggies, a lot of fragrant garlic, and tangy tomato sauce seemed just about perfect for a special Saturday night dinner.
Tangy, Tomatoey Baked Pork Chops
Olive oil
2-4 thick cut bone-in pork chops
Kosher salt and black pepper
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrots
¼ cup diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ cup beef stock
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Fresh chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chopped veggies in the bottom of a shallow casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Coat bottom of skillet with olive oil, and heat over medium-high heat. Brown pork chops for about 7 minutes on each side. Place pork chops in casserole dish on top of veggies. Add garlic to skillet and sauté for one minute. Pour in stock to deglaze. Add tomato sauce, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir together and pour sauce over pork chops. Cover and bake for 50 minutes – 1 hour, depending on thickness of chops. Remove cover and cook for 10-15 minutes longer until chops are thick. Top with fresh parsley.
