Ellen Sweets says to use vegetables that are the same circumference as the pork chop; the reason will become evident as you prepare them. This dish is best served with a green salad with a blue cheese or feta dressing. Dessert should be something light, like a fruit cup or sherbet. Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
4 loin pork chops, cut 1 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 large yellow onions, sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 large bell peppers, sliced 3/4-inch thick
2 cups partially cooked long-grain rice
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped fine, for garnish
Directions
Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a plastic or paper bag.
Rinse and dry pork chops and dredge in the flour mixture.
In a nonstick frying pan or cast-iron skillet, brown pork chops over a medium-high heat. Put in a casserole large enough to accommodate the chops. Preheat oven to 350.
On each chop, layer an onion slice, a tomato slice and a bell pepper slice. Spray a 1/2-cup measure and fill it with rice. Invert cup so that a mound of rice is placed inside bell pepper ring. Sprinkle all with a light dusting of paprika. Pour chicken stock around chops and seal casserole with foil or a tightfitting lid.
Bake 35-40 minutes covered, 10 minutes uncovered. Serve each chop with pan juices ladled over rice and a sprinkling of parsley.
Wine ideas: In its heyday, a dish like this would have found its perfect match with a wine called something like “Mountain Chablis” from California in massive jugs. Today, California does far better, so find instead a creamy, rich chardonnay: Flora Springs and Kunde make well-priced examples.
-Tara Q. Thomas
