Pork chops with garlic and herbs

This is the the fifth dish in the food project and I think it just keeps getting better. I really enjoyed this dish and so did my husband even though he wasn't that hungry. I thought he didn't like it because he had left a whole pile of food on his plate but he said he really liked it and wanted me to cook it again some time... That's how I measure success - when my husband tells me to cook a new dish again it for sure a home run! I didn't make the citrus-ginger dressing - I forgot to buy ginger, so I served it with melon cubes instead.

I really loved the fresh herbs in the mash and fennel just gives everything a delicious liquorice-like flavour - it blended well together and my taste buds were dancing!

For four people you'll need:

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

zest and juice of 1 lemon

4 large pork chops

4-6 cloves garlic

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon grape seed oil or olive oil

Mash:

800 grams potatoes for mash

2 dl milk

50 grams butter

2 dl finely chopped fresh chives, dill and parsley

Accompaniment:

Green salad and citrus-ginger dressing*

Stir together fennel seeds, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper. Rub it all over the pork chops, cover it up and let it marinade for about 10 minutes.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces. Boil them in salted water for about 15.-20 minutes until they are cooked all the way through and falling apart.

Pour the water from the potatoes and put the pot back on the stove to let the remaining water on the potatoes evaporate. Add the butter and milk in the pot and mash it all together with a whisk leaving it to be a lumpy mash. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the chooped herbs right before serving the dish or else the herbs will loose their fabulous green colour.

Fry the pork chops in a hot skillet with oil for about 3-5 minutes on each side along with the garlic slices. Be careful not to fry the garlic for too long as they will become bitter if they are browned too much.

Serve the pork chops with the mash filled with herbs and along side that a green salad with citrus-ginger dressing.

*Citrus-ginger dressing

60 grams fresh ginger

zest and juice of 1 lemon

4 dl extra virgin olive oil

Peel the ginger and slice it into smaller pieces. Put it in a blender together with the lemon juice and zest and add olive oil. Mix it all together and keep the dressing in a bottle or plastic container with a lid on in the fridge. It will keep fresh for about 2 weeks.  

Bon appetit...

  
Read about Carina's experience with this recipe - HERE