Grilled Pork Chops with Caramelized Nectarines and Eggplant

This is the quintessential dish for warm nights when you feel like making the most out of your grill (be it outdoors or indoors). When it comes to pork chops, the rich and meatiest chops are cut from the center of the loin. Pork chops deliver iron, potassium, and B vitamins, while being about as lean as chicken.

One serving of pork is 3 ounces, approximately a deck of cards, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Association. One serving delivers a huge dosage of complete protein with men getting 43 percent of their daily intake and women 52 percent. Provided you don’t add additional oil, butter or other calorie-laden ingredients, boneless pork chops have only 93 calories and 2 grams of fat per 3 ounce serving. To ensure pork chops remain moist while cooking, make sure you tell the butcher you want the cut to be ~3/4-1 inch thick.

Summer fruits such as peaches and nectarines complement pork extremely well. Here I used nectarines. I found that tossing the nectarine with maple syrup before grilling helps caramelize them. For extra vegetable goodness, I also grilled eggplants and broiled some cherry tomatoes to garnish. To finish, I suggest drizzling some balsamic vinegar to give an acidic bite.

INGREDIENTS (serves 2):

• 2 pork chops
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
• 2 nectarines
• 1 eggplant
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Some rocket to garnish (optional)

METHOD:

1) Wash pork chops and pat dry with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.

2) Preheat broiler function in oven to 200 degrees celsius. Layer washed cherry tomatoes on roasting pan lined with parchment paper. Spray some olive oil to coat the tomatoes and sprinkle some salt. Broil for ~15 minutes until charred.

3) Cut nectarines into wedges and put into a bowl. Coat all over with the maple syrup and some olive oil.

4) Wash eggplant and cut into 3/4 inch slices at a diagonal. Lightly score a criss-cross pattern into the flesh and brush with olive oil mixed with thyme and rosemary. Lightly season with some salt.

5) Heat up a grill pan (I used my Le Creuset cast iron grill pan here) on medium heat. Using tongs, layer eggplant slices evenly and cook on both sides until grill marks form, brushing with olive oil/thyme/rosemary mixture regularly to prevent it from getting dry. Once cooked, remove and transfer to a plate.

6) Cook the nectarines on the same grill pan until it chars on both sides (roughy 1 minute each side). Transfer to plate.

7) Brush pan with olive oil and place the pork chops onto the grill. Cook roughly 3-4 minutes each side (depending on thickness of cut). Layer pork chops on top of the eggplant and ‘frame’ the chops with the nectarines. Remove blistered tomatoes from the oven and garnish on top of the dish with some rocket leaves if desired.