Pork Mole with Cilantro

I'm still rather put out that Conde Nast decided to discontinue publication of Gourmet and finish out my subscription with issues of Bon Appetit. I've been trying to decide whether I will renew it or not and actually tried a recipe from a the most recent one I received. I was looking for a way to use up some leftover cilantro....

Pork Mole with Cilantro
based on a recipe
from Bon Appetit (April 2010)

2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
2 boneless pork chops
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo or chipotle hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
Fresh cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rub 3/4 teaspoon cumin on each side of meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat to skillet and brown, about 6 minutes per side. Remove pork chops to oven to finish cooking. Add onion to skillet. Cook until onion is brown, stirring onion, 6 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, chocolate, chipotles, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon cumin to skillet. Stir 2 minutes. Add orange peel; season with salt.

Drizzle meat with sauce; top with cilantro leaves.

Notes: The original recipe at Bon Appetit is for steak. My version here also reduces the red onion. And I chose not to puree the sauce instead having something a bit more robust in texture, though I did allow it to reduce a bit longer before adding the orange peel. Should I make this again, I think I want to add some extra cinnamon to rub into the meat at the same time as the cumin. All the same this came out pretty well.

Posted by Jennifer at March 29, 2010 8:22 PM