Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Roasted Vegetables
Mike Salamunovich, Traverse Magazine's March 2012 local foodie and sous chef of The Bay Leaf in Traverse City, cooks up a pork chop dinner featuring Northern Michigan's local ingredients. Back in Northern California where Mike Salamunovich grew up, his birthday dinner was always his favorite food: pork chops. So no surprise that when we asked Salamunovich, now the sous chef at The Bay Leaf in Traverse City, to develop a recipe for us he composed the ode de porc below. Salamunovich sources his pork locally—as he does nearly everything else in this recipe. “I’m happy about the emphasis on local food and supporting the local economy in this town,” Salamunovich says. “I was stoked when I moved here.”
This recipe was first featured in the March 2012 "Best Eats" issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine. Get your copy here for more foodie finds!
Ingredients
- 1 delicata squash, seeded, peeled and cubed
- 10 brussels sprouts, halved
- 2 shallots, julienned
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and halved (green vein removed)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig plucked fresh thyme
- Cooking oil of choice
- 2 thick-cut pork chops
- Salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- ¼ cup raw cashews, lightly crushed
- 1 tablespoon dried cherries
- Splash of brandy
- 1 tablespoon butter Extra virgin olive oil, optional