Quick Pesto Pork Chops

My Italian great grandparents came to the United States in 1918 when they were teenagers. They lived in Queens and did normal Italian American practices such as have a tomato garden and make wine in their cellar. When my Midwestern grandmother from Kansas married my grandfather during his time at McConnell Air Force base, she flew back to live with him. My red headed German Dutch grandma had to learn how to make Italian food.

One of the greatest things she still makes is pesto sauce. We invited her over for dinner last weekend, and she brought us a Rubbermaid container of her homemade basil pesto. I have never eaten anything green that was this tasty.

I have yet to learn her recipe as she promised she would tell me, but have been fun creating dishes to accompany it with. This evening my husband and I made Pesto Pork Chops.
I had never made them before, but I looked up a few recipes online and compared them, fusing a few things together and added my own touches. I used ideas that spread the pesto over the chop on one side and sprinkling cheese on top to seal it. I added heating minced garlic in olive oil beforehand and simmering the chops in a touch of dry white wine. 

Making a quick version of this recipe was important because we had errands to run this evening. The recipe took no less than ten minutes to prepare four thin pork chops, of the cheap variety of course. If we had used a better pork chop, I would have eaten a whole pig’s worth because each bite was a shock of flavor that ran from the tip of tongue to my fingertips. I credit my grandmother’s pesto that she learned how to make from my great grandmother, but any pesto would be worthy of this quick concoction. 

You will notice that I do not have a finished picture of the plated dish. This is because they were too tasty and were gone before it could be done!

Ingredients

Olive oil cooking spray

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp garlic, minced

4 thinly cut boneless pork chops

¼ cup dry white wine

4 tbsp pesto sauce

4 tsp grated romano, Locatelli Pecorino Romano preferred


Directions

1. Spray a little olive oil spray into a skillet in order to cut down in the amount of olive oil used. Add the olive and garlic. Heat it until warm and you can smell the garlic.

2. Add the pork chops and pour the wine over them. Cook the one side of the pork chop. You will not be able to turn back to this side after the next step, so make sure it is done to your liking. 

3. Turn the pork chops over. Spread 1 tbsp of pesto over the top of each pork chop. Top the pesto with the cheese. The cheese will get slightly melted.

4. Continue cooking the pork chops with the pesto side up until the center has reached at 145 degrees Fahrenheit.