This is another quick and easy recipe, perfect for a weeknight dinner when you don’t have a lot of time. it is Pork Chops Agrodolce with a Herbed Bean Salad. If you want to make the whole meal really quick, you can make the bean salad a day ahead, or skip the bean salad all together and go with rice or noodles as a side dish and have a vegetable (I made green beans). This recipe is a nice mix of sweet and sour flavors with the honey and the balsamic vinegar for the glaze for the pork chops. I got the recipe from Williams-Sonoma.

Pork Chops Agrodolce

4 bone-in pork chops, about 1 inch thick

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

Herbed bean salad (recipe to follow)

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the chops and cook, turning once, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the honey, balsamic vinegar and thyme and cook until the liquid is thickened and reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer. Return the chops to the pan, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover and cook, turning the chops occasionally and basting with the sauce, for about 15 minutes more for medium doneness. Transfer the chops to a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer until the sauce is syrupy, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the butter until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the sauce over the pork chops and serve immediately with the herbed bean salad.

Herbed Bean Salad

1 1/2 cups cannellini beans, picked over, rinsed and soaked overnight

2 fresh thyme sprigs

1/2 yellow onion, peeled

1 bay leaf

1 shallot, finely diced

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Drain the beans and rinse with cold water. Place in a Dutch oven and add the thyme sprigs, onion and bay leaf. Add water to cover the beans by 3 inches. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the beans are tender, 45 to 55 minutes. Discard the bay leaf, thyme sprigs and onion. Drain the beans into a colander and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, whisk together the shallot, oregano, basil lemon juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Add the beans and stir to coat well with the vinaigrette. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

You could serve the bean salad warm or cold, whichever suits your tastes best. As I said, if you wanted to make this a really quick weeknight meal, you could make the beans the day before or skip them all together and make other sides instead.

For tomorrow’s dinner, Sean really wants to have the Popcorn Shrimp, so I think that is what I am going to make. I’ve never made it at home before, so it should be interesting. Check back tomorrow to find out how it goes. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!