Spanish stuffed pork chops with mustard salad

Never underestimate the power of a brine. Even when my meat only has time for a quick bath, I dip its toes in. Brines add flavor and make even the driest-ass cuts juicy. In the case of pork I always reach for molasses because its deep black sweet soul cuts through the pig's fatty flamboyance so well. Spanish stuffing is my own indulgence- I like nothing better than to munch on marcona almonds and charcuterie and olives all de liblong day, habitually hanging round the Harris Teeter olive bar, filling up my container, throwing a few in my mouth and filling it back up as if nothing had happened. My hubris around that bar elicits a comical swagger the likes of which no employee has ever seen nor cared about.

Also, have I told y'all that baby spinach is bullshit? You will never see me cooking with it (oops, maybe sometimes). I just don't get why you'd choose baby over leaf. Leaf has texture, and flavor, and a meaty quality to it. It's big and strong like Popeye. Baby spinach is nervous Olyve Oyl with her typewriter-style nailbiting technique, nervous knees, and weirdo low-bun brill-creem hairdo. Ohhhh, Popeye.

Spanish stuffed pork chops with mustard salad


2 big ol' pork chops, thick'uns
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup kosher salt
3 large links sweet italian sausage, or chorizo
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup Manchego cheese
1/2 cup spanish olives
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 cup spanish peanuts, toasted
1 large lemon, zest and juice
1 large red onion
1 shallot
16 oz. green beans
3 cups big-leaf spinach
1 tsp. Colman's mustard powder
1 Tbsp. honey

Set 4 cups of water on the stove. Add the molasses and salt and bring up to heat just enough for the salt to dissolve. Set aside.
Using a very sharp knife, pierce the pork chop from the side and cut a slit 2 1/2 inches across. Continue entering your knife into the chop, penetrating the interior until the tip of the blade has almost hit the other side. Run the blade across the inside of the meat, using the slit as a pivot. You should have formed a pocket in the pork.
Put the pork in a gallon-sized ziploc bag and pour the molasses/salt liquid on top. Close the bag and allow the pork to brine on the counter while you make the stuffing.

Remove the sausage from their casings and brown through on medium heat. Cool on paper towels.
Using the blade attachment on your food processor, pulse the cream cheese to soften. Add the manchego, spanish olives, parsley, toasted spanish peanuts, and lemon zest. Pulse a few times, then add the sausage and pulse again. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.

Set oven to 350F.
Peel and slice the red onion into eighths and the shallot into quarters. Coat both lightly with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet, add green beans to the pan, and roast for an additional 10-15 minutes. I like my beans al dente.

Place a grill pan on medium-high heat and remove the chops from their brine. Using a spoon, pile the pork chops with the cheese mixture, then with the back of the spoon, pack it in there. Place the chops on the hot pan, grill for three minutes, rotate 45 degrees, 3 minutes, flip, repeat. Put the grill pan and chops into the oven and cook an additional 12-15 minutes.

Remove the onion, shallot, and beans from the oven. Toss with mustard powder, honey, and lemon juice. Toss in spinach. Season to taste.

Serve each chop on top of a heaping serving of salad.

P.S. My new rap name is Fatty Flamboyance.