Pork Chops with Peach Salsa
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
Peach-Brined Pork Chops:
reserved syrup from a jar of peaches
⅛ C olive oil
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground chipotle chili pepper or regular chili powder for less heat*
4 boneless pork chops (about 1 pound)
*To make ground chipotle: Grind dried chile in a coffee or spice grinder till a fine powder.
Peach Salsa:
1 20 oz jar of canned peaches in light syrup (drained) and chopped
½ red bell pepper, small dice
1 seeded jalapeño, small dice (optional)
⅛ C red onion, small dice
¼ C cilantro, chopped small
zest of 1 lime
juice of ½ lime
1-2 tsp honey (optional)
¼ tsp salt
Couscous:
1½ C plain dry couscous
2 C water
1 Tbsp olive oil
⅛ tsp salt
Instructions:
Strain and reserve the syrup from one 20 oz jar of canned peaches. Whisk the syrup together with olive oil, salt, and chipotle chili pepper. Brine the pork chops in the salty peach mixture for 1-2 hours.
Chop the peaches and the vegetables for the salsa. Fold together with lime zest, lime juice, honey, and salt. Store covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Prepare your grill for cooking on direct high heat. Grill the pork chops over direct high heat for 6-8 minutes, turning once, until they reach an internal temperature of 160º-170º.
Make the couscous while the pork chops are grilling. Bring the water, olive oil, and salt to a boil. Stir in the dry couscous, remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.
When the pork is done cooking, place on a bed of couscous and serve topped with fresh peach salsa.
From simpleasthatblog.com