We were strolling in the supermarket and I just couldn't resist buying a pair of thick, luscious looking pork chops (partly because I was watching an episode of Saturday Cooks where a they cooked the most tempting-looking pork chops with fennel seeds. And don't you tell me otherwise, Nigel Slater - the supermarket offers such a boon - what a nice change from the market it is - the chops were all cleaned and trimmed and ready to cook - wonderful.
As soon as I got these home I rubbed them with sea salt and black pepper, plus a sprinkling of brown sugar on one side, and left them overnight in the fridge.
The next morning, I let them come to room temperature for about 2 hours. Meanwhile I finely chopped an onion and caramelized the slices slowly in some butter and oil in my thick-bottomed La Gourmet pan, for a good 45 minutes over the merest heat. Once they got good and brown and melting, I added a cup of chicken stock (water and stock concentrate), some black pepper and a bay leaf. I let the sauce come to a boil, and then let the mixture steep while I prepped my chops.
I then heated up my nonstick pan, and melted a knob of butter with some oil till sizzling. I rubbed cornflour all over my chops for a slightly crisp coating and to thicken the sauce later. I then seared the chops on both sides, then added a teaspoonful of fennel seeds. Let the mix sit on high heat for 1 minute, then pour in the sauce mixture, making sure to scrape up all the good brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Covered the whole thing, lowered the heat and let it simmer away for a good 40 minutes, or until I was satisfied that the meat was cooked properly - stirring occasionally, and seasoning as required (a little sugar, more black pepper, a splash of soy, that was all).
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