The Russian Pork Chop.

Pork chops come in all different styles: bone-in/boneless, smothered, stuffed, glazed, breaded, grilled, broiled, wrapped in God-knows-what, etc. This recipe is my mommy’s and is more or less the classic Russian pork chop recipe.

The uncomplicated flavor of these pork chops is where their beauty lies. Atop a heap of creamy mashed potatoes, they are one of my favorite comfort foods.

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless pork loin chops, at room temp.

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 egg

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt/coarsely ground black pepper

Pound the pork with a meat mallet until 1/3” thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside. Place the flour in a shallow dish. Beat the egg with 1 tbsp of water and a pinch of salt in another shallow dish.

Heat the oil in a fry-pan on medium heat. Dredge chops first in flour, then in egg. Shake off any excess. Fry about 4 min on each side, until golden. Serve immediately.

Eggplant and Chick Pea Sauté

This dish is one of those happy accidents, when you throw a bunch of stuff into a pan and hope for the best. All the flavors and textures that ended up in the pan this time complement each other so well. It turned out to be a healthy, yummy, vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large eggplant

Sea salt

1 yellow onion, diced

3 garlic cloves (divided,) minced

1 large can (about 2 c) chick peas, drained, rinsed

1 tsp lemon zest

Handful of fresh herbs, chopped*

Freshly-ground black pepper

*Parsley, dill, basil and/or cilantro.

Partially peel the eggplant (I like the texture. Peel entirely if desired.) and cut into ¾” cubes. Toss with a generous amount of sea salt and let stand for 15 min (to draw out the bitterness.) Then rinse and drain.

Heat the oil on medium heat in a sauté pan. Add the onion and 2/3 of the garlic. Sauté 3 min and add eggplant. Season with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper, stir and partially cover with lid. Sauté for 10-12 min until softened and browned, stirring frequently. Add chick peas and sauté for 2 more min. Add zest, herbs and the remaining garlic. Stir. Re-season if necessary. Enjoy.

New Toy.

I’ve been wanting to buy an immersion blender for my kitchen since I first made discovery of its existence, and upon my return from Europe, my mother bought me one. I guess she missed me ; )

To Christen it, I decided to make this Pureed Vegetable Soup.

(Yield: 6-8 servings)

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

2 carrots, peeled, diced

1 zucchini, peeled, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 tomato, diced

¾ tsp dried basil

1 tsp corn starch

4 c beef broth

1 large potato, peeled, cubed

1 pinch yellow curry powder

2 tbsp minced parsley

Salt/pepper/sugar

Heat oil in large soup pot on low heat. Add onion, season with pinch of sugar and salt, and sauté for 10 min, stirring frequently. Add carrots and cook 2 min. Add zucchini and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper, raise the heat to medium and cook for 10 min. Then, add tomato and basil, and cook 2 min. Stir in corn starch until fully incorporated. Add beef broth to pot, raise heat to high, cover with lid, and bring to a boil. Once rolling boil is achieved, add potato, lower heat to simmer and cook for 30 min, stirring occasionally.

Turn heat off. Add parsley and curry. Re-season if necessary. Immerse hand blender into pot and puree until desired consistency is reached. *Add cream or butter for extra luxury.