Pork with Pomegranate Pan Sauce

A simple spice rub flavors boneless pork chops, but the sweet-tart sauce is the real star of this dish. The sweetness of sugar and the sharpness of shallots bring the sour flavors of pomegranate juice and vinegar into perfect balance.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and about 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup chopped shallots
• 3/4 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; sprinkle over pork chops.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops; cook 3 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm. Add shallots to pan; cook 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Add juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, and vinegar; bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Serve pork with sauce.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

232

Fat:

8.8g (sat 2.7g,mono 4.6g,poly 0.8g)

Protein:

24g

Carbohydrate:

13.1g

Fiber:

0.3g

Cholesterol:

67mg

Iron:

1.3mg

Sodium:

352mg

Calcium:

34mg

When I tried this recipe out of cooking light magazine, I was so surprised how amazing this recipe tastes. The sauce which goes on the top of the pork blew me away. It is now the favorite of the house! This unbelievable sauce is not just limited to pork, you can put it on any variety of meat. However, I do not recommend putting this sauce on steak. This recipe did take about 1 1/2 hrs. to 2 hrs. to make, because of the sauce, when you put it in the pan with all of it's ingredients it does need to be stirred until thick enough, which may take a little while. Though I recommend this recipe 100%, it is totally worth it.