This recipe is from Gourmet Today, the last cook book from Gourmet Magazine before it ceased publishing. It’s described as “an astonishing little recipe that shows what a power ingredient like balsamic vinegar can do. Caramelized shallots and the dark vinegar glaze give these chops intriguing sweet, sour, dark and syrupy notes.”
I was looking for something to do with my pork tenderloin and had some shallots left from another recipe. I cut the tenderloin into thick slices, pounded them a bit to flatten, and had a wonderful, richly flavored dinner in no time with a couple of ingredients from the pantry.
4 (3/4 inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (about 2 pounds total)
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbs. olive oil
8 small shallots, peeled leaving root ends intact, and quartered
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
Pat pork dry and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook pork, in two batches if necessary , with shallots, turning pork once and stirring shallots occasionally, until pork is browned and shallots are golden brown and tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer pork with tongs to a plate, leaving shallots in the skillet.
Add the vinegar, sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper to skillet and cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and liquid has thickened slightly, about one minute. Reduce heat to moderate and return pork, along with any accumulated juices, to the skillet, turning 2 or 3 times to coat with the sauce. Cook, turning once, until pork is just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
Transfer pork to a platter and boil sauce until thickened and syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour sauce over pork.
Serves 4
Note: If you use a pork tenderloin the cooking time will be less. These days pork is best served slightly pink in the center and still juicy.
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