Gordon Ramsay's Pork Chops with Peppers

*All ingredients, measurements, and instructions come from Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking book

So I bought myself Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking book, because I was curious about what kind of recipes such a famous chef would come up with. I definitely wanted to try them out. It has so many recipes of things I have never even heard of! Maybe it's just because we live on different sides of the world and eat differently, or maybe I am just so unfamiliar with gourmet dishes. Or it's probably some of both. Anyway, this recipe for pork chops caught my eye right away and I decided to give it a shot. I'm always on the lookout for ways to flavor up some pork chops.

I already have two other pork chop recipes that we love and have repeated multiple times, but they involve having the pork chops covered in a sauce. I was curious to try out a pork chop that wasn't covered in sauce, and to see if it still delivered just as much flavor. I'd have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with this recipe. The red peppers and red onion soak up a tangy, sweet and sour flavor that pairs really well with the pork chop. I like to add a thick layer of these peppers on top of my pork chops to make sure I get some of them with every single bite.

Here's the recipe, straight out of the cookbook. Make sure to give this one a try!

Ingredients

• 2 pork chops, about 7 oz each

• sea salt

• freshly ground pepper

• olive oil

• 2 cloves of garlic, skin on, crushed

• 1 small bunch of thyme

• butter

Sweet and Sour Peppers

• olive oil

• 1 red onion, peeled and sliced

• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced

• sea salt

• freshly ground pepper

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• small bunch of basil, leaves shredded

Instructions

1. First prepare the peppers. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan, then add the onion and peppers. Season with salt and pepper, add the sugar, and saute over high heat for 4-5 minutes until soft and colored. (Make sure you can hear the vegetables hissing in the pan. If not, the pan isn't hot enough and you're in danger of boiling the vegetables instead of sauteing them.)

2. Add the vinegar and let it bubble for a minute or two until it has reduced and the peppers are soft. Turn down the heat, add the tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and cook for additional 2-3 minutes. Stir in the shredded basil and continue to cook for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to infuse. Wipe the pan clean, ready to cook the pork.

3. Using a sharp knife, make cuts into the fat of the chops, about 1/4 inch deep and at 1 1/2 inch intervals. making sure you don't cut into the meat. (This will stop the meat from curling up during cooking and will make it cook more evenly.) Season the chops with salt and pepper really well on both sides, pushing the seasoning into the meat.

4. Place the cleaned-out frying pan over high heat until hot and add a dash of oil. Add the chops, garlic, and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes until colored. Turn and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side, pushing the thyme under the chops and breaking up the garlic a little.

5. Toward the end of cooking time, add 3 chunks of butter and baste the chops with it as they are cooking, to speed up the cooking process and keep the chops moist. (Push the fatty edge of the chops toward the back of the pan to help render the fat.) Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and place it with the herbs on top of the chops.

6. Transfer the chops to a plate, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes, spooning over the basting butter now and again.

7. Serve the chops on top of the peppers with the resting juices and a little juice from the peppers.