Recipes SWEET 'N STICKY PORK CHOPS WITH SPELT & BARLEY SALAD

SWEET 'N STICKY PORK CHOPS WITH SPELT & BARLEY SALAD

Prep 15 mins
Cooking 35 mins
Serves 2

Tired of rice? Sick of potatoes? Then join us this month as we explore lesser-used grains and pulses to whip up delish meals in next to no time. Barley and spelt are the stars of this recipe. Increasingly freely available in shops, they make for a brilliant starch alternative, especially when you dress them up like we did with loads of complementary flavours and textures such as fennel, apple, walnuts and raisins. We’d eat this salad just as is, but it really shines when you top it with a thick-cut sweet 'n sticky, seriously juicy pork chop.

- WHAT YOU WILL NEED -

  • FOR THE PORK CHOPS
  • FOR THE BARLEY AND SPELT SALAD
  • 2 thick-cut large pork chops (ask your butcher)
  • ½ cup pearl barley, cooked according to package instructions
  • Cape Herb & Spice SWEET & STICKY CHICKEN
  • ½ cup spelt, cooked according to package instructions (or check your supermarket shelves for a pre-cooked mix of the two that you simply pop in the micro to warm!)
  • olive oil, for pan frying
  • 1 lrg red apple, finely sliced and drizzled with lemon juice to prevent dicolouring
  • 1 tbs runny honey
  • 1 med head of fennel, finely sliced and drizzled with lemon juice to prevent dicolouring
  • juice of one lemon
  • ½ cup sultanas
  • 2 tbs water
  • ¼ cup walnuts
  • FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
  • ½ red onion, finely diced
  • 2 tbs avocado oil
  • fennel fronds, to garnish
  • 1 tbs red wine vinegar
  • FOR THE VINAIGRETTE CONTINUED
  • ¼ tsp honey
  • pinch of salt
  • generous grinding of black pepper

- METHOD -

Dust the pork chops generously with our Cape herb & Spice Sweet & Sticky Shaker Seasoning and allow to stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. Pan-fry the chops over a medium heat in olive oil until just cooked through. Add the honey and swirl the pan for a few seconds, then deglaze with the lemon juice and water. Remove from the heat, pour over the pan juices and set aside to rest for a few minutes. Mix all the spelt and barley salad ingredients together. Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients and drizzle over the salad. Top with the chops before pouing the pan and resting juices over them and garnishing with fennel fronds.

Recipe concept & photography by Lizet Hartley.

Lizet Hartley is a freelance stills and reel food stylist, food photographer and recipe developer. In her spare time she – rather predictably – cooks. Get more of her recipes on her blog at http://www.melkkos-merlot.co.za

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