For a quick, simple and very tasty lunch today I cooked lovely juicy shoulder pork chops, delicately fat marbled and always more tender than loin chops. These were especially good as they came from Sadurano, a wonderful farm on the hills above the historic town of Castrocaro Terme (Forli' & Cesena province) that has been completely organic since 1982.
First I made a bulb fennel and potato puree by cooking a sliced fennel bulb in boiling salted water in one pan, while in a separate pan I cooked two unpeeled floury potatoes starting them off in cold water. This made enough puree for 4 servings. When both were very soft I peeled the potatoes and then squished everything through a potato ricer, to hold back all the stringy parts of the fennel and make the puree nice and lump free. I used a little of the already salted fennel water to soften them, so no extra salt was needed, and kept the puree warm on very low heat while I cooked the chops. I had intended to add some milk and butter to the puree but it tasted perfect just as it was so I left well enough alone. Good decision! For the pork chop, I shredded a few sage leaves that survived the snow, and thinly sliced four scallions. I warmed up a tablespoon of good olive oil in a large non-stick skillet and then browned the chops in a single layer on both sides, a few minutes per side. The beautiful chops shed very little fat and absolutely no water during this process, wonderful. I then added the scallions and sage to the pan and seasoned with salt and just ground white pepper, and after a minute or so I deglazed the pan with white wine from Tenuta Godenza, a local winery - I love it when I can be really local in my cooking! Then I covered the pan and left the chops to simmer covered for about 10, maybe 12 minutes while I set the table. There was still quite a lot of liquid so I took the lid off and let the pan juices reduce to a beautiful creamy glaze and the chops were ready. I served them with a little mound of soft and fluffy fennel potato puree on the side, home made bread, and a glass of young red Sangiovese from the wonderful La Zerbina estate. Buon Appetito!
