Ginger-Soy Pork Chops

A couple of days ago I was reading Clotilde Dusoulier's great food blog Chocolate & Zucchini where she talked about her experience in a traditional French cooking class. In that post Clotilde mentioned a honey-ginger pork chop while illustrating a sample menu that the class would work on during a session.

Though to me it's neither traditional nor French, I thought it would be a nice preparation for pork chops I had purchased a day before. Clotilde didn't include a recipe for that dish, and I hope she will someday, so I had to come up with one of my own.

I liberally modified a recipe I found on epicurious.com and the result was fantastic. The sweetness of the honey is balanced by the spicy ginger and the tangy combination of soy and hoisin. I highly doubt that would resemble Clotilde's traditional-French preparation, but I think it's pretty yummy. Holly agreed, saying "I could definitely eat this again."

GINGER-SOY PORK CHOPS with HONEY-ORANGE CARROTS
Serves 4.

4 Pork Chops, half-inch thick (about 2 pounds total)
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp hoisin
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Combine all of the ingredients except for the pork chops and sesame seeds to make a marinade. Marinade the pork chops in a ziplock bag for 30 minutes per side or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Arrange the pork chops in a broiler-proof baking dish, reserve the marinade. Brush some marinade on the pork side facing up. Bake for 15 minutes on the middle rack. Flip the pork chops and brush more marinade on side facing up and bake for another 15 minutes or until a thermometer inserted through the side registers 165 F.

Remove the dish from the oven and preheat the broiler. Flip the pork chops and brush on more marinade. Broil 3-4 inches from the broiler for 1-2 minutes until well browned but be careful that the marinade does not burn. Flip the pork chops again and pour on the last of the marinade and repeat the broiling.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve with orange-honey carrots on the side.

Honey-Orange Carrots

2 Carrots, sliced 1/4" thick
1 T honey
Juice of 1 orange
pinch of cardamom (optional)

In a small saucier over medium flame dissolve the honey in the orange juice. Add the carrots and cardamom and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover and simmer the carrots until they are just softened, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the carrots and bring the honey-orange sauce to a boil. Reduce the sauce to about 2-3 tablespoons. Put the carrots back in and toss to coat and warm the carrots.