Glazed Pork Chops & Tomato Salad

I wasn’t sure I was going to mention the sad events that happened in Japan last week in this post but I am sure that like me you were also touched seeing all the horrible images after the earthquake and the tsunamis. In moments like this is that we see how strong people are and I have to say I am very impressed with the dignity the Japanese people are showing the world.

In moments like this we stop and thank God for our blessings: our family, friends, comfortable homes, health and so on. I am praying for Japan and I hope I could do more to help. If you can, please help as well, sending positive energy to such an admirable nation or making a donation to one of the many charity organizations that are genuinely organized to help when natural disasters happen.

Back to today’s recipe (that is not related to Japan in any way) I wanted to share with you something simple, easy to make. After such a difficult week I still want to enjoy good home-made food with my family but I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.

I chose Glazed Pork Chops & Tomato Salad. This is a really simple recipe that doesn’t require any special cooking skills or unusual ingredients. You can serve it with rice or mashed potatoes if you prefer a more substantial meal. I am sure you will like it in any way.

Ingredients:

Pork Chops

6 boneless pork chops

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

½ teaspoon of olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Tomato Salad

200g red cherry tomatoes

100g yellow cherry tomatoes

1 Japanese cucumber (peeled and sliced)

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Start preparing the marinate for the pork chops. In a small ball mix the Dijon mustard, the balsamic vinegar, the maple syrup and the olive oil. Mix it well until totally incorporated. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper in both sides. Brush the pork chops with the marinate sauce (if you prefer you can just put the pork chops in a medium bowl, add the marinate sauce and use your hands to mix and make sure the pork chops are coated with the sauce). Reserve.

For the salad, start preparing the dressing first. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Next, wash the tomatoes very well and chop each one of them in half. Peel and slice the cucumber. Chop the parsley. Mix all these ingredients in a medium bowl and season with the dressing.

Cook the pork chops in a non-stick skillet (I use cooking spray as well) for 2 minutes in each side in medium flame.

Serve the pork chops and the tomato salad together. Serves three.