Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Grilled pork chops with vinegared peppers and onions

I didn't get a good photo of this dish, but it tasted a lot better than it looks. I was able to get some pretty thick pork chops from Savenors, and Andre grilled these while I put together the peppers and onion and saffron risotto. For the peppers and onions, just cut a red and yellow bell pepper and an onion into long strips and cook over moderate heat until soft. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Add a little bit of vinegar at a time until you get the desired taste. Since this is sort of a condiment for the pork chops, you want these to be pretty tart. If the vinegar reduces too much and starts sticking to the pan, just add a few tablespoon of water to loosen things up. For the risotto, dice up about half and onion and a couple cloves of garlic. Cook until soft an add about a cup of arborio rice. Add warm broth a ladle full at a time and stir constantly. The rice will absorb the broth, so keep adding more broth to maintain a sort of runny consistency. Add a pinch of saffron midway through cooking. The risotto will be done when there is just a little bit of bite left to the grains of rice, but all of the chalkiness is gone. Just keep tasting it until it gets to the consistency you like. Season with salt and pepper and finish the risotto with a tablespoon of butter and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese. The risotto can actually be cooked until almost done ahead of time and then reheated and finished off at the last minute.

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