Stuffed Pork Chops with Spinach, Roasted Tomatoes & Goat Cheese
Inspired from a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis, this delicious way of preparing thick-cut pork chops is easy but elegant, served with a pan gravy.
I may have one other recipe adapted from the so-called celebrity chef, Giada de Laurentiis, which says something about either how little I watched her show or how little I think of her cooking. In fact, I wasn't inspired by her recipe so much as I stumbled upon it while searching online for any recipe that included the titular ingredients.
Divina Red Roasted Tomatoes
Of course, I modified her dish to adjust for items I had on hand, namely the use of roasted tomatoes instead of sun-dried, which can often be too chewy for my preference.
The product I used was Divina Roasted Red Tomatoes; They sell a whole line of Mediterranean-style antipasti products and this one brought a delicious flavor to the dish I otherwise would not have gotten with sun-dried. There are, I’m sure, other jarred roasted tomatoes on the market, just be sure you get ones that are in a brine, not marinated in olive oil.
Originally, de Laurentiis made this dish as a double-cut pork chop for two, which you then cut in half and serve. I tried that initially and though it was arduous, messy and made for an inferior presentation rather than to serve each diner their own, individually stuffed chop. This recipe works best with a thick-cut pork chop, 1-1/4” to 1-1/2” thick.
Stuffed Pork Chop with Spinach, Roasted Tomatoes & Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 thick-cut pork rib chops, 1-1/4" - 1-1/2" thick
- 1 9-oz package chopped frozen spinach (like, Green Giant Simply Steamers)
- 1 small shallot, finely minced
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 6-8 roasted tomatoes pieces, chopped (like, Davina)
- 3 oz garlic and herb goat cheese
- 1 tsp smoked salt (like San Francisco Salt Company Alder Wood)
- juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1- 1/2 cups chicken stock (like Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter, divided in half
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 8-10 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Using a very sharp paring knife, slice into each chop on the opposite side of the bone and cut a pocket that goes all the way to the bone. Be careful and take your time. Liberally season all sides and inside the pockets of the chop with smoked salt.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack is in the uppermost position.
- Cook the spinach in your microwave according to directions on the package, but cut the cooking time short by 2 minutes.
- Remove the spinach to a mixing bowl and use paper towels to dry off the greens as much as possible.
- Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet until shimmering and sauté the shallots until they begin to pick up some caramelization, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes and the thyme and cook for 2 minutes, then add the chopped spinach. Stir all the ingredients well. Add salt and pepper, and then allow two tablespoons of butter to melt into the mixture and sauté an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove all the veggies to a large mixing bowl and add the goat cheese.
- Stir all the ingredients together in the mixing bowl while everything is still hot from the stove, allowing the cheese to thoroughly melt into the mixture.
- Stuff each pocket of the pork chops with as much of the spinach stuffing as they will allow. You'll no doubt have a smidgen of stuffing left over and that's okay.
- Stand the stuffed pork chop in the cast iron skillet so that it is upright on its bones with the stuffed pockets facing upward. Use whatever stuffing that might be left over to balance the standing chops. You may find that a long wooden skewer through both side of the chop will further stabilize it in the skillet and help keep the pockets closed.
- Use the remaining two tablespoons of butter to slather all over the sides of the chop. This will help brown the meat in the high heat of the oven.
- Roast 30-35 minutes. Remove the chop from the oven and from the cast iron skillet. Tent with aluminum foil while you make the gravy.
- The skillet will still be hot from the oven, but put it over medium heat on the stove and pour in the chicken stock to de-glaze the pan. Use a spoon or spatula to scrape up all the bits of stuffing left behind.
- Add the mustard and lemon juice and stir constantly until everything is well blended. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.
- For drama, serve the chop upright on the plate, with the pan gravy spooned around.
