Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Gravy
Contributed by: Dana Jacobi of 12 Best Foods Cookbook
After apprenticing at three-star restaurants in France, Author Dana Jacobi opened a catering business and marketed her own line of gourmet sauces. She has since authored five cookbooks, contributed to several others, and written for Food & Wine, Cooking Light, the New York Times, and the Associated Press.
Her work has won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award and been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award. Presently Jacobi writes a weekly newspaper column, "Something Different," for the American Institute for Cancer Research. She also consults in product development and teaches cooking classes. Jacobi lives in New York City.
This recipe is reprinted from: 12 Best Foods Cookbook: Over 200 Delicious Recipes Featuring the 12 Healthiest Foods.
These overstuffed chops will have friends and family talking for weeks. The idea came from watching a cooking show on television. That recipe, however, was seriously loaded with butter and cream, while I use just enough to make velvety potatoes and moist chops. I also replaced a long list of Cajun spices with Thai chili paste, making this a down-home dish with melting-pot flavors.
Ingredients:
- 3 medium Beauregard, Garnet, or Jewel yams (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon Thai red chili paste
- 3 tablespoons half-and-half
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
- 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 4 (1 1/2"-thick) boneless center cut pork chops (5-6 ounces each)
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roast the sweet potatoes. Peel and mash them. There should be 3 cups. Reduce the oven to 350°F.
For the gravy, in a bowl combine 2 1/3 cups of the sweet potatoes with the butter, chili paste, and half-and-half. Season it to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the creamy potatoes to cover the bottom of an 8" square baking dish. Set aside.
For the stuffing, in a second bowl, combine the remaining sweet potato with the onion, apple, and breadcrumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Make a 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" pocket in each chop. Pack the stuffing generously into the pockets. Combine the paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and onion powder in a small bowl. Rub 1 side of each chop with this mixture and set them seasoned side down on top of the sweet potatoes in the baking dish. Rub the remaining seasoning on top of each chop. Cover the pan with foil.
Bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake the chops 10 minutes longer, until they are nicely browned on top. Serve immediately.
Serving Size: Makes 4 Servings
Nutritional Information: Per Serving: 474 calories, 12 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 32 g protein, 60 g carbohydrates, 9 g fiber
