Honey Harissa Pork Chops
and warm carrot ribbons with mint and feta
Smoky harissa and sweet honey work as both a marinade and a vinaigrette in this Middle Eastern-inspired meal.
Smarts:The side dish for this meal uses sauteed carrot 'ribbons.' Feel free to use any spiralized vegetable or thinly sliced carrots.
Ingredients
- Vinegar, red or white wine - 2 Tbsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 1 Tbsp
- Honey - 1 Tbsp
- Harissa paste - 1 tsp (sub any hot sauce)
- Cumin - 1/2 tsp
- Oil, cooking - 1/4 cup
- Carrots - 12 oz, spiralized or sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler (sub any spiralized vegetable, many stores carry pre-spiralized vegetables in the produce section)
- Beans, cannellini or butter (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Mint, fresh - 1 Tbsp, chopped
- Pine nuts - 1 Tbsp (sub sunflower seeds)
- Honey Harissa Marinade and Vinaigrette - 4 Tbsp
- Cheese, feta - 3 oz
- Pork chops, boneless or bone-in - 4
- Honey Harissa Marinade and Vinaigrette - 4 Tbsp
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make honey harissa vinaigrette and marinade - Whisk together vinegar, mustard, honey, harissa and cumin. Add oil (portion for vinaigrette) while whisking. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Pork chops - Pour honey harissa vinaigrette / marinade (portion for pork) over pork (reserve remaining vinaigrette / marinade for salad) and turn to coat on all sides. Tenderize with a fork. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 day. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Carrots - Turn carrots into 'ribbons' by peeling with a vegetable peeler or spiralizer or slice thinly. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
- Mint - Chop mint.
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Make
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts and toast, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant. (Note: if making Tuesday’s meal, toast pine nuts for that night at the same time.) Set aside.
- Remove pork chops from marinade (discard marinade) and season with some salt and pepper.
- Return skillet to heat and increase heat to medium-high. Add oil (portion for the pork) and then place pork chops on heated oil. Sear on each side for ~3 minutes. For thin pork chops, this should be enough heat to cook them through. If you’re using thicker pork chops, lower heat and cover with a piece of foil until pork reaches 145F / 63C degrees.
- When pork is finished, transfer to a cutting board. Cover with foil and let rest for ~5 minutes.
- While pork rests, return skillet (including any liquid in the pan) to heat. Add carrots and remaining honey harissa vinaigrette / marinade. Saute until carrots soften slightly (you want them to hold their shape and still have some crunch), ~1 minute. (Note: If using thinly sliced carrots, saute for 5 to 6 minutes, adding honey harissa vinaigrette / marinade in the last minute of cooking.)
- Remove pan from heat and stir in beans.
- Crumble feta over carrots. Top with beans, mint, and pine nuts (remember to reserve half if doubled for Tuesday). Enjoy pork chops with carrots on the side.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
48 reviews
Made kind of a hybrid of regular/paleo, since I didn't have any canned beans nor the time to boil the dried ones. The sauce was great (and note to self: does NOT need to be doubled)! Cooked the chops by sous vide at 140 for an hour, then a very quick, very hot sear. I'm always looking for more imaginative ways to cook or serve pork chops (ugh not apples again, or mushrooms), so this was great.
1 HelpfulLoved the sauce! Would make again. Wasn't sure about the carrots and beans, but turned out well.
0 HelpfulMy store didn't have spiralized carrots, but they did have a bag of shredded carrots for salads which worked well here. I'm always excited to find a way to make vegetable sides more exciting, so I really enjoyed this one!
0 HelpfulI have never used Harrisa before and now I'm thinking of how good it would be in so many other recipes! And loved the carrot ribbons. I'll probably add more mint to them next time.
0 Helpful