One Perfect Bite: Table for Two - Lomo Adobado (Spicy Spanish Pork Chops)

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Table for Two - Lomo Adobado (Spicy Spanish Pork Chops)

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Forget tea for two, at least for tonight. If you love copious quantities of pork, French fries, crusty bread and red wine, chances are you'd be perfectly at home in a Spanish kitchen, and there is no doubt that you'd be welcomed. Now, if there is no Spanish kitchen in your immediate future, tapas culture and a demographic trend toward smaller families have created a bounty of recipes that make it possible to serve Spanish meals in your own kitchen, even if your table is set just for two. The spicy pork chops that I'm featuring tonight are simple to make, but for best results they must marinate before they are fried. As is usually the case, the longer they sit, the better they taste, so, get the chops into the marinade the night before you plan to cook them. Thin cut chops will cook in about 4 minutes, so they make a great meal for a busy week night. While the recipe below is scaled to feed two, it can be doubled, as long as you do not crowd the chops as you cook them. In Spain, the chops would be served with a crisp salad, French fries and a glass or two of good red wine. Come to think of it, in Spain, everything save breakfast, is served with French fries and red wine. It's a great country. If you follow suit, you'll have a memorable meal. Here is how the chops are made.

Lomo Adobado (Spicy Spanish Pork Chops)...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1-1/2 teaspoons sweet smoked Spanish paprika (Pimenton)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup dry white wine or vermouth
2 tablespoons olive oil for marinade + 2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
1 pound pork loin, cut into 3 or 4 thin slices
Optional garnish: lemon slices, piquillo peppers

Directions:
1) Mix minced garlic with oregano, salt, white wine and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a glass baking dish. Place pork loin slices into baking dish and spread spice mixture on both sides. Cover pork with plastic wrap and marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
2) To cook: Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a large frying pan set over medium heat. When oil is hot and shimmering, add pork and fry until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Garnish with lemon slices and piquillo peppers if desired. Yield: 2 servings.