I love to sear off meats and then create a lovely sauce from de-glazing the pan of the tasty brown bits and adding a little of this and that for a delicious sauce to add moisture to a meat that I find somewhat dry typically. This delicious dish pulls together in about 30 minutes. I serve this with a side of seasoned French frozen green beans, but a salad is also nice with these. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and even Paleo if you sub in coconut milk for the cream.
VARIATIONS: Substitute 2 boneless, butterflied chicken breasts for the pork. Add 1/4 c. white or rose wine of your choice, simmering off the alcohol at least 4-5 minutes. Just discovered a few weeks later that 4 oz. of either lean chopped cured ham or bacon, pre-browned added is quite good in this recipe. Chop pork before browning and serve this dish over zucchini noodles for a totally different taste.
With optional cured ham added, served on “zoodles”
INGREDIENTS:
2 6-oz bone-in center-cut pork chops or 10 oz. boneless pork loin (yield two 5-oz. portions)
3 tsp. bacon grease for frying
¼ tsp. lemon pepper (I use Victoria Gourmet No-Salt Lemon Pepper)
½ c. water (or pork or chicken broth)
¼ c. heavy cream
1/3 c. chopped parsley
1 6-oz can sliced mushrooms, with their juice
10 cherry or San Marzano tiny tomatoes, cut in halves
Dash sea salt
1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
DIRECTIONS: Heat the bacon grease in a skillet over high heat. Coat the surfaces of the chops with the lemon pepper. Sear them in the hot skillet until golden and completely done. Lift them out onto a plate briefly. Or you can remove the bone and chop the pork if you prefer and then sear the pieces. I often do that if I plan to serve this on zucchini noodles. Add the water or broth to the skillet and with a rubber spatula, de-glaze the tasty brown bits stuck to the pan. Add the cream, parsley, mushrooms with juice, salt and black pepper. Simmer a few minutes to allow the cream sauce to thicken slightly on its own. Add the tomatoes and simmer just until they begin to soften. If sauce is still not thick enough for your preference, dust the smallest amount of xanthan gum lightly over the top, whisk constantly and allow time to thicken before repeating. Place chops back in the pan and simmer just a couple minutes more. Serve at once.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes two 5-oz. servings (adjust for more people). Each serving contains:
448 calories, 28 g fat, 6.85 g carbs, 2.30 g fiber, 4.55 g NET CARBS, 40.99 g protein, 432 mg sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 