GRILLED PORK CHOPS & MIXED HERB CHIMICHURRI w. GREEN BEANS

 

 It was a warm(er) day for grilling, and we had some fresh herbs on hand, so I looked for a recipe and voila!  Delicious grilled pork chops.  However, while I usually blanch and then sautee green beans as a side, I decided I wanted to spend prep time outside with David while he grilled and had this not-so-fantastic idea of roasting my green beans instead, and like a dummy, I just assumed that 30 minutes or so of roasting would do the trick and didn't even look it up.  Yes, they were edible, but no, we did not enjoy them.  Green beans FAIL!

The original recipe for the flavor-filled pork chops, however, is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/marinated-and-grilled-pork-chops-with-mixed-herb-chimichurri-recipe/index.html

My modifications to the recipe are in RED:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/2 serrano pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 (12-ounce) double-cut pork chops

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, basil, garlic, shallots, cilantro, oregano, parsley, jalapeno and crushed red pepper. Pulse until well blended but do not puree. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper. Remove 1 cup of the chimichurri sauce from the processor and transfer to a non-reactive bowl, cover with plastic wrap and reserve at room temperature for up to 2 hours. If cooking pork another day, refrigerate sauce and return to room temperature before serving.

Season the pork chops on both sides with the remaining 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and the remaining teaspoon of the black pepper and place in a glass bowl. Add the remaining chimichurri sauce from the processor. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the pork chops for at least 2 and up to 4 hours.

The marinade

Marinating the meat!

Brushed off and ready for the grill

 Preheat a grill to medium.


Once the pork chops have finished marinating, remove them from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature for 45 minutes. Brush the excess chimichurri sauce off the chops and set the chops over the hot grill. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes on the first side. Turn the chops over and continue to cook until they are done, another 7 to 8 minutes.

Once cooked through, serve the chops with the crusty bread and pour 1/4 cup of the reserved chimichurri sauce over each chop before serving.

Notes: I used red wine vinegar because we already have about 5 different types of vinegar in our cabinet, and I didn't want to buy another one, but it turned out fine.  I made the marinate the day before and refrigerated it overnight.  Our pork chops marinated for two hours, and taken out for 30 minutes before we put it on the grill.  Instead of serving it with bread like the recipe calls for, we had green beans, which again, I FAILED to make.  Thus, here's my lesson learned on how NOT to make green beans:

They looked so good before I messed them up :(

No longer roasted...

 
Next time, I will either roast them longer than 30 minutes at 375 degrees, blanch them first, or just find a recipe!  They weren't soft enough when the 30 minutes was up, so in an attempt to save them, I added a little water to the pan, covered it up with foil and put them back in the oven to steam a little, and yes, they got softer, but they also got soggy and not roasted like I had wanted them.  They were edible, but definitely not what I was looking for and thus, upset me, and probably prolonged this blog entry!  Lesson learned.  


Besides the green beans fail, the pork chop was delicious, plus any leftover pork chop with the leftover sauce topped a salad wonderfully the next day for lunch!

I love delicious leftovers!