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We’re giving today’s dish a twist with Hatfield® Marinated Pork Chops served with melted mozzarella and a fresh homemade sauce.
Pizzaiola is an old family favorite in my house. I used to make this for my kids as a fun weekend dinner every once in a while, and it was always an event. On the one hand, the sauce drenched meat and stringy melted mozzarella made it a treat to eat, while also being a simple enough recipe to let them have fun getting their hands dirty helping me in the kitchen.
In other words, it was an entire Saturday night encapsulated inside of a single cast iron pan.
Today we’re preparing the recipe in the simplest ‘cook and serve’ way possible, but we’re keeping it full of flavor using Hatfield® Marinated Pork Chops. This saves us precious prep time, making this recipe perfect for the busy back to school season.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
1) Perfect for Busy Weeknights. Combing a simple marinara sauce in a cast iron pan with pork chops and mozzarella, this is a one pan meal that looks and tastes like a true treat – and yet couldn’t be simpler or more intuitive to put together.
2) Layers of Fun. Simple meals often times sacrifice either on complexity of flavor or ‘fun,’ but not this one. I know this might sound silly, but this recipe is just so much fun to prepare and eat. From the melted mozzarella, to the hardy sauce and marinated chops, this recipe combines layers of flavor, and makes you feel like a true gourmand in the process.
3) Ripe for Experimentation. Whether you want give the sauce a bit of kick with some spicy peppers, or try different cheeses for melting, or try a different cut of meat, such as Hatfield® Marinated Pork Loin Filets, today’s Pizzaiole is intuitive and simple to experiment with.
Ingredients – Tips, Pointers, and Explanations
1) Mozzarella – Fresh vs Packaged. Fresher is always better. True. So, opt for fresh whenever you can. However, if I’m being honest, fresh mozzarella is far from always being a ‘must.’ Recipes that call for fresh mozzarella involve those where the ‘milky’ taste and ‘fluffy’ texture won’t either be overpowered by the other ingredients, or destroyed by a harsh cooking process. However, if the mozzarella is going to be drowned out by a medley of powerful ingredients, or baked down, then you can save yourself a few dollars and buy packaged. After all, there’s really no point in paying for fresh mozzarella when all of the qualities that make ‘fresh’ desirable are being lost. Today’s recipe is one such case.
2) Hatfield® Marinated Pork Chops. Today we’re using Hatfield® Marinated Pork Chops, since not only are they simply delicious and easy to use, but they are family owned, American-Made, and raised gluten-free, meaning we can feel great about what we’re eating. Just cook and serve.
Hatfield® offers a variety of products from their dry rub seasoned tenderloins to their slow-cooker-ready pork roasts, delicious fresh pork makes dinner less about the cooking and more about the family. You can locate Hatfield® products, like their #1 Marinated Tenderloin in the NE – Tuscan Herb Tenderloin or today’s Marinated Pork Chops, in the meat department of your local grocery store.
3) The Basil – A Conundrum of Fresh vs Dried. The conventional wisdom is that dried basil is sufficient in all cases where the basil is being ‘cooked,’ in other words – almost always. However, if this is ‘wisdom’ then I choose to be a fool. To my palate, dried basil has an ‘earthy’ and ‘herbal’ quality to it, an almost ‘aged’ flavor. By contrast, fresh basil is not just ‘crisp on the leaf’ but on ‘on the palate’ as well, and imparts an almost ‘savory mint-like’ freshness to the recipe it’s being added to. Beyond that, the natural oils or ‘juices’ of the fresh basil leaves are part of what I want in my recipes, not merely the leaf particles themselves, as is the case in dried basil. Dried basil, however, does have the advantages of being cheaper, easier to use, and it will last two to three years in your spice cabinet. Fresh basil, by contrast, requires wash and prep time, and is only truly ‘fresh’ for a couple of days inside your fridge. As a result, whatever qualities you value most will likely determine which you prefer to use. Experiment, and find which works best for you.
Pork Pizzaiola
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 pork chops 1x
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 6 – 7 vine ripe tomatoes – diced
- 4 – 5 cloves of garlic – chopped
- 1 bunch of Italian parsley – stems removed and chopped
- ½ large red onion – sliced thin
- 2 tbs. capers plus a tablespoon of caper juice
- Handful of fresh basil leaves chopped plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp. fresh ground sea salt
- 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. sugar
- 1 tbs tomato paste
- 2 – 3 tbs. olive oil
For the Pork Chops:
- 1 package Hatfield Marinated Pork Chops
- Sliced mozzarella
- Fresh Romano cheese for grating
- Fresh basil for garnish
- Drizzle of olive oil
- ½ red onion sliced thin
For the Salad:
- 3 – 4 cups of fresh Arugula – or your favorite salad greens
- 2 red bell pepper – sliced thin
- ¼ red onion – sliced thin
- ¼ cup walnuts – chopped
- ¼ cup dried cranberries – chopped
For the Salad Dressing:
- 1 ½ fresh lemons – squeezed
- ½ cup of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic – grated
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tbs. honey
Instructions
For the Sauce:
- Heat a large cast iron frying pan with 1 – 2 tbs. of olive oil.
- Add the chopped garlic, parsley, basil, capers and caper juice, sliced onion, tomato paste and sauté until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the diced tomatoes and seasonings and continue to simmer on a low gentle heat until the tomatoes soften and thicken. This should take about 25 – 30 minutes of gentle simmering. Taste for seasoning.
For the Pork Chops:
- Heat a small cast iron frying pan with a teaspoon of olive oil and place the onion slices in the pan to get a nice golden color. Set aside when this is achieved.
- Heat a large cast iron frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Place chop on frying pan and cook for 4-6 minutes.
- Turn pork chop over and place a slice of mozzarella on each chop, and loosely cover while cooking for another 4-6 minutes, internal temperatures 145°F.
- Line a platter with the sauce and place the chops on the platter. Top with more sauce, fresh grated cheese, the golden onions on top and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Garnish with fresh basil.
For the Salad:
- Combine all of the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl and toss.
For the Salad Dressing:
- Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and whisk.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
If You Enjoyed Today’s Recipe…
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Enjoy with Love!
DAVID J MYERS says
Catherine, You had me with those beautiful browned pork chops with mozzarella on them! They looked amazing… Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
eli says
holyyyy. wow that is something that I want in my mouth right now. I’ll have to try and make this soon!
Elizabeth Keene says
I’m such a sucker for Italian, and I’ve never tried this. Sounds absolutely delicious!
angiesrecipes says
What a mouthwatering meal! The pork looks so juicy and flavourful.
Cristina Petrini says
A pizza so succulent and rich in flavor I believe would make my boyfriend go crazy … Zak loves these things! We will try it!
Michelle Cantu says
This meal looks incredibly delicious. I am tempted to make a grocery run on my busiest day of the week just so I can make this for my family dinner tomorrow. We love pork chops and my family loves mozzarella, these two paired together, omg!
Ashley Rollins says
Holy cow this recipe looks incredible. And so simple, too – my favorite kind of recipe!
Arya (Aradhya) Badia says
You always make me hungry haha Love this and the colors.
Olya AMANOVA says
Food looks amazing. You’ve managed to make your article deliciously catchy. Very skillfully put together post.
Joy says
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I would however have to substitute the pork for another meat as I don’t eat pork. Such a great post though.
Cindy Nico says
What a delicious dish looks so good. Have to give it a try.
Joyce says
They look sooo good! I’m not good with cooking tbh but I’ll definitely show this to my husband I’m sure he’ll definitely love this.
Shannon Gurnee says
I’ve heard of a recipe like this before. I would love to try making this for my family sometime. Looks delicious!
Sue-Tanya Mchorgh says
Judging by the ingredients I know this Pork Pizzaiola must be tasty. The pictures only confirm it. I love that it also seems easy to make. I would love to try it myself.
alexandra cook says
This recipe is making me crave right now, I cant wait to try this at home, tomorrow sounds awesome
Sam Smith says
Wow..this is an amazing and looks soo delicious & sounds too yummy…! i want to eat them and i have try & make it soon…Thanks for shared a beautiful recipe….!
Lasonia says
This dish looks really delicious. I have to save this so that I can make it for my guys.
Jamie says
This looks so mouthwatering and that sauce sounds so flavorful!
Sharon says
This looks like a comfort food meal dinner that the whole family will love. I love using pork so this is just another delicious recipe to try.
Gloria says
YUM!!! I was just thinking about what to make for my daughter’s birthday dinner. She loves pork. I think this just might be the recipe I need. Perfect…and I know she is going to love it.
Sara Welch says
I know what I will be having for dinner tonight! A restaurant worthy recipe, indeed! Yum!
Kushigalu says
Looks amazingly delicious. Love the presentation too. I can’t wait to try this for my family!
Cici says
Regarding the 1 tsp. fresh ground sea salt, 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. dried oregano and ½ tsp. sugar for the sauce…I do not find where to add these in the directions.
Thank you.
Living the Gourmet says
Dear Cici, the seasonings are to be added with the diced tomatoes in the third step for the sauce. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!
Cici says
Thank you for the clarification.
David says
I know what I will be having for dinner tonight! A restaurant worthy recipe, indeed! Yum!