Pork Chops in Wine Sauce

For most of my life, pork was the other white meat:  the one I wouldn't eat.  (Well, pork chops anyway.  Bacon, of course, was always on my list.)  I think that I just had one too many over cooked, dried out, chewy, tough pork chops that I never could stomach them.  Then I discovered the lusciousness that is pork tenderloin and decided to give pork chops another chance.  Yup, basically it still was the other, dried up, chewy white meat I remembered. 

Luckily I came across this recipe in a Cuban cookbook of Joe's.  Then one day, when I saw a crazy good sale on pork chops at the grocery store, I decided to dig out this recipe and give it a try.  Thank God I did.  These chops are not like other pork chops.  They are moist, (sorry, I hate that word too but I just cannot think of another, more accurate synonym) tender, flavorful; unlike any pork chop I had had before.  Not only are they delicious, but they are a cinch to cook as well.

 

Chuletas en Salsa Vino (Pork Chops in Wine Sauce)

 

1 cup flour

3 pork loin chops (1/2 pound each)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, sliced

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

salt to taste

 

Place flour in large, deep plate.  Dredge pork in flour and set aside.

 

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium high heat.  Add pork chops and brown on each side.  Add the garlic, onion and chicken stock and cover.

 

In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together wine and tomato paste with a fork until there are no lumps.  Add mixture to the pot, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 1/2 hour or until pork is cooked through.

 

Place pork chops on a serving platter over a bed of rice.  Spoon sauce over top and serve.