MAIN Pork Chops with Bleu Cheese-Date Spread
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4-6 servings
I’ve been making pork tenderloins stuffed with bleu cheese and dates for years, but when chops were on sale one week I thought how hard can it be to adapt? I recommend buying a high quality bleu cheese - get the cheese monger to help you out. A great choice is the Bleu D’Auvergne, but just about any bleu/gorgonzola/stilton will probably work. You want something with some softness to it so that it will melt a little on top of the hot pork chops. If you have to buy the crumbled stuff in a container you may find it’s a little dry and have to add some cream cheese to the spread to get it to hold together.
Ingredients
4 boneless pork loin chops
6 oz bleu cheese
12 medjool dates, pitted and thoroughly chopped
½ Tbsp coarse ground black pepper
1 red D’anjou pear
8 oz salad mix of your choice
Black pepper vinaigrette:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or similar)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
½ tsp brown sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Remove pork chops from fridge 30-60 minutes before cooking to come closer to room temp. Liberally sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Combine chopped dates, bleu cheese, and black pepper and stir everything around to lightly incorporate. If your bleu cheese is on the drier side, you may need to use a small amount of room temperature cream cheese to incorporate. You will use half of the spread on the pork and half on the salad.
- Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and begin searing pork in olive oil. You may have to work in batches if your pan is not large enough. For chops that are about 1 inch thick, sear for 2-3 minutes per side for medium pork, or 4-5 minutes per side for a more well-done cut. Keep in mind that the pork will continue to cook if you let it rest 10 minutes, and that overcooking pork will really dry it out.
- Remove pork from heat and set aside to rest. While the pork rests, you will slice the pear and assemble the salad dressing. Slice the cheeks off the pear and discard the core. Lay the cut sides down and slice very thin, lengthwise pieces. Aim for about ⅛ inch thick.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk together. Add the salad mix and the pear slices and toss to combine.
- Plate the salad and pork. Drop a small ball of the cheese spread on top of each chop. Then use your fingers to pinch small pieces of the spread on top of the salads.
Courses dinner
Recipe by Vie at https://getvie.com/2018/08/10/trader-joes-august-1st-7th/