Smothered Pork Chops

Smothered Pork Chops

Ingredients

* 2 large brown onions, 4 Chinese-cut pork chops, season-all, salt, pepper, chilli powder, garlic powder, cornflour, cooking oil.

* 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp plain flour, 3 cups chicken broth, 2 tbsp sour cream, salt, pepper, chopped parsley.

Peel and slice the onions and put them aside. Flatten out the chops, pat them dry, and season them very heavily with the season-all, salt, pepper, chilli powder, and garlic powder, on both sides. Sprinkle the chops lightly with cornflour on each side and fry them in an oiled pan for two minutes per side. When they are browned, remove them from the pan and put them aside. Add the onions, with a little more oil and some salt and pepper, and gently fry them until they are completely transparent and slightly browned.  Put the pan with the onions in it aside.

Next, make the gravy. Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan. Stir in the flour and gently simmer the mixture for a few minutes, or until it thickens and looks brown, stirring it as it cooks. Add the pepper, cook it for a minute, then add two cups of broth, all at once. Let it simmer until it is thickened. Add the sour cream and stir it in. Transfer the gravy to the pan with the onions, stir it thoroughly and heat it. Add the extra cup of broth, and the chops, along with any juice they produced, reduce the heat, put a lid on the pan, and simmer it gently for twenty minutes or so. Taste the gravy and adjust the seasonings. Sprinkle the parsley over the top.

Serves two or four.

This is a soul food dish from the Southern USA. It’s lovely. As with most of these dishes, you can reduce the fat or make it full fat. You can also add mushrooms, along with the onions if you want; many do, but many don’t.