Chop it Up!

This marks an exciting start! The long overdue blog and JC Supper Club! Now procrastination shall stop and we will start sharing our passion for food. As the Chinese saying goes, to keep a man's heart, you shall first tame his stomach. Living in London doesn't make cooking at home any easier - with all the buzz going on in your life, you do need some tricks. This first blog will show how this simple dinner will only take 30mins and definitely help when you jump onto the scary scale!

While my beloved always drools on the sound of a schnitzel, it's not gonna make his belly go away. So why not give it a twist? It goes well with the fresh pea salad, which was an attempt to remake the signature 'Pea & Tricklemore' at Lyle, London.

Seared Smoked Paprika Pork Chop with Fresh Pea & Goat Cheese Salad 

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the pork chops:

• Lean pork chop x 4 
• Garlic clove x 1
• Shallot x 1
• Smoked paprika x 1.5tps
• Honey x 1 tps
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

• Flat leaf parsley x 1 pack
• Fresh pea x 200g
• Pea shoots (or any lamb lettuce) x 1 bag
• Goat cheese x 1 small tub
• Apple juice (or cider) x 2 tps
• White wine vinegar x 4 tps
• Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Pat dry the pork chop with a T-towel. Place it on the chopping board. Using the back of the knife, start bashing pork chop so it'll be more tender. To prevent the chop from curling during cooking, slight slice 1cm along the edge of the pork chop. 
2. Season the pork chop with the rest of the ingredients except garlic and shallots, which shall be thinly sliced. Let the chops sit in room temperature (or in the fridge if you're preparing in advance, best marinate this overnight).
3. For the salad, choose the freshest peas possible, blanch them in salted boiling water for 1min and refresh in ice cold water. Drain and place the peas in a salad bowl.
4. Mix the apple juice and white wine vinegar in a cup. Add half to the peas and mix well. 
5. Slightly chop the parsley and mix with the peas, as well as pea shoots. Add the other half of the salad dressing, together with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Crumble up the goat cheese and sprinkle around the salad.
6. Heat the frying pan on medium, once hot enough add the shallots and garlic until translucent.
7. Sear each of the pork chop on medium high heat for 2mins. Turn the heat down slightly and continue cooking for another 1min. Add the reserved juice from marinate to the pan. 
8. Omce the meat feels firm, it's cooked through (alternatively, pinch with a skewer or sharp knife to check if any blood is dripping through).
9. Rest the pork chop in the oven covered in foil for 3mins and serve with salad.

The results? My #masterdishwasher volunteered to help out with no complain! :D

Try it out and let us know what you think!