I’ve always been a fan of the combination of apples and pork. Dates back from a childhood where my mom never served pork chops without a side dish of applesauce. You do know the easy way to peel fresh ginger, right? With a teaspoon? Just lightly scrape off the peel? Like I said, easy.
Ingredients:
4 inches thin-cut boneless pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick; 1-1/4 pounds total) 1/4 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil 1/4 cup honey or packed brown sugar plus 1 tablespoon for drizzling 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce 2 tablespoons rice wine or sherry 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1 teaspoon five-spice powder 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced 2 large baking apples, cored and cut into thick slices 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 green onions, diagonally sliced into 2-inch pieces
Preparation:
Place pork chops in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish; set aside. For marinade, in a small bowl combine peanut oil, honey, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, five-spice powder and ginger. Pour marinade over pork chops. Seal bag; turn to coat chops. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours, turning occasionally.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drain chops, reserving 1/4 cup marinade. Arrange chops in an ungreased 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange apples around chops. Drizzle apples with the reserved 1/4 cup marinade. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon.
Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add green onions. Bake, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes more or until chops are cooked through (160 degrees) and apples are tender. Arrange chops and apples on a serving platter. Drizzle apples with remaining tablespoon of honey.