It’s like a switch. Once the temperatures start to dip, enough for a sweater or scarf, my kitchen turns into a factory for homestyle cooking and baking. In this case, it’s Chipotle Pork Loin with warm-your-bones heat and spice.
Overall, it’s searing and sauce making. Pretty straight forward, and easy enough for a weekday dinner (you know me, anything less than 45 minutes after work is my go-to).
I’m not super crazy about spicy dishes, but the chipotle peppers add just enough heat to flirt with that gray line of being too hot to enjoy. If you’re sensitive to spice, only use one pepper.
I prefer pork loin, but feel free to use this recipe for pork chops. Add a side salad to balance the spice, or some potato wedges, and you’ll be cozying up to fall in no time!
- 2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, seeds removed, plus 2 tablespoons sauce from the can
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, halved and sliced
- 1 cup canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 4 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
- 4 pork loins (abut 1.5 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
- Combine the chilies and adobo sauce, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, parsley, cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of salt in a food processor and pulse until it forms a paste. Transfer to a shallow dish.
- Add the olive oil, onion, fresh parsley and tomatoes to the dish. Mix well.
- Add the pork chops to the dish, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat a grill pan to medium heat. Scrape off the pork and add to the hot pan. Cook, 7-8 minutes, rotating the pork 45 degrees halfway through to create a crosshatch pattern. Flip and repeat.
- Meanwhile, transfer the marinade to a small pot over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup water. Bring the marinade to a low boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer. When the pork is flipped, add some of the marinade on top of it.
- Remove pork, top with marinade and serve immediately.
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