Cheese Blondue: Pork Chops with Fennel

I've never cooked with fennel before, but whenever I see it in the produce section I wonder what I could do with it. So one day I picked up the fennel bulb and some pork chops and decided I would try and look something up when I got home. I found a good looking recipe and made a few changed depending on what I did and didn't have at home. You'll need to trim off the top part of the fennel bulb that has the stems and leaves (I read that you can use the leaves in salads or dressings so you can definitely save those for later use). Cut the bulb in half and then slice it thinly into a half-moon shape as seen below. Overall, I really enjoyed the flavor when it was cooked down with some onions and garlic, and it was a sweeter flavor that seemed to pair well with the pork chops. The only thing I might change next time is to cook down the sauce a little more to make it thicker, possibly adding some flour or cornstarch to make the consistency more creamy.

Ingredients

6 pork chops

1 medium fennel bulb, stocks removed and sliced

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 TBS paprika

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil, about 2 TBS.

1 TBS. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 TBS. fresh lemon juice

1. Rinse your pork chops and then pat dry. Cover each side of the pork chops with salt, pepper and paprika and rub into the pork chops to season them well.

2. In a medium heat pan with about 1 TBS. of olive oil, sear pork chops on both sides until they have a good brown color on them, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. In the same pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil, the sliced fennel, onions and garlic. Saute in the pan until the fennel and onions start to get brown and soft. About 7-8 minutes.

4. Add in the chicken broth and white wine and bring to a boil.

5. Once the pan is boiling, add the pork chops back in the pan and cover with a lid. Cook for about 8-10 minutes depending on how thick your pork chops are.