Tamarind Pork Chops - 5 stars

after eating these pork chops, i literally licked the plate. i NEVER do that. never ever. fortunately, i was home alone, with no one to witness my bad manners except the kittens. :-) these pork chops were, without a doubt, the best i'd ever had at this point. wow! the recipe is pulled from one of my new favorite cookbooks (The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper). recipe is below, reprinted without permission.

it was an easy dish - i created a glaze for the pork chops out of tamarind concentrate, garlic, and other things which i can't recall at the moment. :-) i preheated my grill pan over medium high, seasoned the pork chops with salt and pepper, and grilled them for a few minutes on each side, until they were almost done. i then brushed the tamarind glaze on both sides, grilled for a couple more minutes, and... that was it!

i made mashed baby red potatoes and a green salad to serve with it. perfect!

Tamarind-Glazed Pork Chops
serves 2-4
10 minutes prep time; 5-10 minutes grill time
Best eaten hot off the grill

Glaze:
3 generous tablespoons tamarind concentrate
2 tablespoons ground Aleppo pepper (or other sweet dried chile like ancho)
6 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc nam)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons dry white wine
3 tablespoons water, or more as needed

Pork Chops:
4 thin-cut, bone-in pork chops
Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil

1. If you are grilling, prepare the grill.
2. In a food processor, puree the tamarind, Aleppo pepper, garlic, fish sauce, sugar and wine. Thin the paste with water as needed to get to the consistency of thick maple syrup. Set it aside.
3. Grill the chops over a medium fire until nicely browned, or alternatively film a large saute pan with olive oil and sear the pork over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes.
4. In the last few minutes of grilling (or searing), baste the chops with the marinade, turning them once to coat on both sides. You want it to bubble and caramelize. Serve the chops with the extra marinade along side.