Pork Chops with Onions, Apples, and Maple Syrup

Pork Chops with Onions, Apples, and Maple Syrup

Serves 4

4 double-thick pork chops, with or without the bone (about a half-pound each)

Salt and Pepper

Vegetable Oil

1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 large pinch dried red pepper flakes

4 tablespoons butter

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored, then each quarter cut into 4 slices

¼ cup dry white wine

¼ cup real maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  In a large nonstick pan, heat a tablespoon of butter and add the onions, rosemary, a little salt, and the red pepper flakes.  Cook until the onions are soft and just beginning to brown.

Remove the onions from the skillet, melt two more tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat until the foam subsides.  Add the apple slices in a single layer, turning them every five minutes or so, and cooking them over medium-ish heat.  Meanwhile, dry the pork chops with paper towels, then salt and pepper them liberally.  In a large ovenproof skillet, heat just enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom until it’s about to smoke.  Add the pork chops and sear for five minutes on each side without moving them during the searing time.  Put the pan with the chops in the oven and roast for 10 minutes.

The apples should begin to brown a little and get soft.  Take the chops from the oven and remove them from the skillet to a plate to rest for a few minutes.  Cover them loosely with foil, and then pour off the fat from the skillet.  Stir the wine and maple syrup together and add them to the skillet, scraping the bottom to remove the browned bits.  Stir in the last tablespoon of butter, then add the apples and onions.  Heat everything together for a minute.  Serve the apple mixture over the pork chops.