Slow Cooked Pork Chops with Onion and Bell Pepper

Some of the best cooks I know have something in common: they keep it simple. To be delicious, a dish doesn't need 25 different ingredients (including some that you have never heard of). A well-executed meal, might need just a few high quality ingredients to be unforgettable.


My mom makes these pork chops that fall off the bone and are a delight of flavors. She only uses pork, salt, oil, garlic, and water. But the WAY she cooks it - that makes the dish. It is not complicated, but is almost impossible to write it down. It is just like cooking should be - it is her and the food, and they understand each other.


The funny thing is that when I was a little girl I did not like pork. I used to get upset at my mom when she cooked those pork chops - something about the smell of it made me nauseous! I laugh when I think about that, because today I cannot imagine life without it! 


I am lucky that my husband and kids also love slow cooked pork chops! I make it all the time. But I do not try to make my mom's recipe very often. It is almost as if she owns it. I need her to cook that one for me:) 


I like to play around with my pork chops and use different combinations of simple ingredients like these ones I am sharing with you today. What I love the most about this particular recipe is that the red bell peppers add a subtle and lovely sweetness to this dish. The meat is super tender and the flavors are as comforting as can be!


TIP: If you own a pressure cooker, you can get this dish on the table in 30-45 minutes. That is what I do when I do on busy days.

Slow Cooked Pork Chops with Onion and Bell Pepper

Ingredients

4 thick bone-in pork chops

1 yellow onion, cut into thick slices

1 large red bell pepper, cut into thick strips

4 large garlic cloves, crushed

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup white wine

3 cups low sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed

1 cup of water, plus more if needed

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Rinse pork chops and pat them dry. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Set them aside.

Heat a large skillet (or a Dutch oven pan) over high heat and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the pork chops and sear them on both sides until golden brown. Transfer pork chops to a plate.

Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Season with a couple of pinches of kosher salt and black pepper. Cook over high heat for 3 minutes. Add white wine and 2 cups of chicken broth, stir to combine and add the pork chops. Cover skillet and cook over medium heat for 1 hour and 25 minutes. Flip pork chops, add 1 more cup of chicken broth and 1 cup of water. Cover and cook for another 30-45 minutes or until meat is very tender and sauce has reduced and thickened. If pork is still not tender, keep adding a little bit of chicken broth and/or water and cooking until meat starts to fall off the bone! Lovely when served with rice!

Visualize

Pat pork chops dry and season them on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet and add olive oil. Brown pork chops on both sides and remove from the skillet.

Add a little more olive oil to the skillet and cook onion, pepper, garlic, and rosemary for 3 minutes.

Add some white wine.

And some chicken broth.

Put pork chops back in the skillet.

Cover and cook for 1 hour and 25 minutes. Add more chicken broth and some water, cover and cook for another 30-45 minutes.

You want the meat to be super tender. There should be enough sauce to pour over the chops when you serve them. They should look like this:



 





And it will taste amazing!