Braised Pork Chops with Two Wines

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 pork loin chops about 2 cms thick
• Flour for coating
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste dissolved in a mixture of ½ cup dry Marsala and ½ cup dry red wine
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method

Choose a sauté pan that can later contain all the chops without overlapping. Put in the oil and turn on the heat to medium. When the oil is heated, flour both sides of the chops and shake off excess flour. Place in pan and cook the chops to a rich brown on both sides – about 1 ½ to 2 minutes per side.

Add the chopped garlic, stirring it into the oil at the bottom of the pan. When the garlic becomes slightly coloured, add the mixture of the tomato paste and two wines. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and add the fennel seeds… When the wine has simmered briskly for about 20 seconds, turn the heat down to cook at a slow simmer. Cover the pan and set the lid slightly ajar.

Cook for about 1 hour, until the meat feels tender when prodded with a fork. Turn the chops from time to time while they are cooking. When they are done, add the parsley, turn the chops over 2 or 3 times then transfer them to a warmed serving platter, using a slotted spoon or fish slice.

Tip the pan and spoon off all but a small amount of fat. Add ½ cup of water, turn the heat up high and while the water boils away, using a wooden spoon, scrape loose the cooking residues from the bottom and sides of the pan. When the pan juices become dense, pour them over the chops and serve at once.

Suggested Wines to Go With Today's Recipe

CAB. SAUVIGNON/MERLOT

Lake Chalice

Brookfields Res. Cab/Merlot

Te Mata Woodthorpe Cab/Merlot

Te Mata Awatea Cab/Merlot

Esk Valley Res. Merlot/Malbec/Cab. Sauv.

Esk Valley Black Label Merlot/Cab. Sauv.

Brown Bros. Cab. Sauv./Merlot