Sugar-Spiced Pork with Chiplotle Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 chiplotle pepper (smoked jalapeño), snipped into tiny pieces
1 (8-ounce) jar salsa
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (1-inch thick) boneless pork chops
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
4 teaspoons chopped cilantro

Directions

In a medium-sized pan, combine pumpkin, chiplotle, salsa, Parmesan, and nutmeg over medium heat. Cook until mixture almost boils, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper; sprinkle evenly over pork chops. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chops and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until done, turning occasionally.

To serve, spoon a generous 1/3 cup of the pumpkin mixture over the bottom of each of 4 plates. Divide chops evenly among plates, placing chops on top of pumpkin mixture; sprinkle with tomatoes and cilantro.

My Experience

We substituted 4 cherry tomatoes for the plum tomatoes, and vegetable oil for olive oil. If you can find chiplotle pepper, use it instead of trying to substitute plain jalapeños. It is very good and easy (20 minutes preparation, 40 minutes cooking (the pork chops needed longer than 10 minutes))

This was the first recipe I added to my on-line collection; in fact, it was the motivation to start publishing my favorite recipes in the first place.

Source

Larry Elder of Charlotte, NC, was the grand-prize winner of the National Pork Producers Council 1996 Taste What's Next recipe contest with this dish.

Nutritional Information

Each serving: 257 calories, 28 grams protein, 12 grams fat, 75 milligrams cholesterol, 514 milligrams sodium

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last updated: October 19, 1996