Pork Chops with Lardons, Onions, Mushrooms.

Serves 2.

Time requirement. About 45 minutes.

What you will need:

2 bone-in pork chops, about 12-14 ounces each and 1¼ to 1½ inch thick.

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

1 tablespoon of salt

18 pearl onions. Fresh or frozen.

8 ounces button mushrooms, or a mixture of mushrooms shitake, oyster, king oyster, etc.

4 small yellow waxy potatoes.

2 slices of thick bacon.

1 teaspoon olive oil.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter.

A neutral oil such as pure or light olive oil.

1 garlic clove peeled.

3-4 thyme springs.

Warm serving plates.

Chopped parsley as a garnish.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a oven proof pan, large enough to hold the pork chops to come, in the oven to preheat.

Sprinkle the pork chops with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Bring 2 quarts of water with 1 tablespoon of salt to the boil: you will need these to prepare the mushrooms, potatoes, and onions.

Wash and quarter the mushrooms. Drop them in the boiling water for two minutes and then remove to a towel to drain and dry.

Peel the potatoes and add them to the water and boil them for 12-15 minutes OR until they are not quite done. Remove them to a towel to drain and dry. They will continue to cook as they dry. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut each potato into 3-4 slices.

Peel the pearl onions: trim off the top and bottom and plunge them into boiling water for 1 minute. Remove them from the boiling water and cool them under cold running water. The skin should easily slip off. Note: you may use frozen pearl onions, but make sure they are fully thawed.

Cut the bacon into ½ inch narrow strips. Place them in a 12-inch nonstick frypan, along with a teaspoon of olive oil, and cook them over a medium heat until they are crisp. Add the pearl onion and cook for 3-5 minutes or until they take on some color. Remove the bacon and onions to a bowl and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons butter and one of oil to the pan and sauté the mushrooms and potatoes for 7-8 minutes to give them a nice color. Remove the mushrooms and potatoes from the pan and set aside.

In the remaining fat in the pan, brown the chops on each side and the edge. Depending on the heat and the pan this might be 2 minutes per side. Once browned, place the chops in the oven. Cook for 8 minutes, turning the chops once while they cook.

While the pork chops are in the oven, return the lardon, onions, mushrooms, potatoes to the frypan, along with the thyme, and garlic clove. Reheat the vegetables and potatoes over a medium heat while you regularly toss them in the pan. When the chops come out of the oven, garnish the potatoes and vegetables with chopped parsley.

Serve the pork chops on warm plates with the vegetables and potatoes.