Cornmeal and Cilantro Crusted Pork Chops

Cornmeal and Cilantro Crusted Pork Chops
work-in-progress

Recipes with Cilantro #2

2 boneless pork chops
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk w/ 1 TBSP lemon juice)
3 TBSP fresh cilantro
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Soak pork chops in buttermilk for 30 minutes. Wash and dry cilantro. Place on clean paper towel and microwave on high for 30 seconds (a trick I saw in a recent issue of Cook's Illustrated and decided to try out). Crumble into shallow bowl. Add cornmeal and parmesan; mix thoroughly. Remove chops from buttermilk and roll in cornmeal mixture.

Heat approximately 1 inch of oil in skillet over medium heat. Fry pork chops (covered) - about 7 minutes per side. Rest for 5 minutes on paper towel prior to plating and serving.

Notes: I set with a country-fried pork chop recipe in mind, and found several. However, since I am tentatively attempting to use cilantro as this month's cooking theme, I started hunting around for a more spicy alternative. Since I didn't find anything, I concocted this. I was pleased with the texture of the dish - crunchy coating and moist, tender meat. However, the taste wasn't quite what I'd been going for. I think the cilantro might need something else to contrast and balance it -- I had thought the cheese might serve in that capacity but it barely came through at all. Overall, I wouldn't be ashamed to serve it to guests but personally I think it needs further development. Oh, and I didn't love the microwave method for the herbs this time around, though I may give it another shot at some point in the future.