Pastured Pork Chops with Fennel Pan Sauce, Gremolata, and Roasted Cabbage
Juicy bone-in pork chops crusted with crushed fennel seed, seared until golden and finished with a sweet, silky fennel pan sauce and a bright gremolata of parsley, lemon, and garlic. Served with wedges of pointed cabbage roasted until caramelized and crisp at the edges.
Yield: Serves 4 · Active: 35 min · Total: 50 min (plus 1–24 hours dry-brining the pork) · Best in North America from fall through spring, when fennel and cabbage are at their sweetest · Best eaten: early evening
About pointed cabbage: Also called sweetheart, hispi, or caraflex cabbage, it has a cone-shaped head and tender, sweet leaves that roast beautifully. Green or Savoy cabbage works too.
Ingredients
Pork chops
4 pasture-raised bone-in pork chops, 1–1¼ inches thick
1½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
1 tbsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp grass-fed ghee or lard
Fennel pan sauce
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced (save the fronds)
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup dry hard cider or dry white wine (optional)
1 cup chicken bone broth
2 tbsp cold grass-fed butter
Squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt
Gremolata
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp fennel fronds, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of flaky salt
Roasted pointed cabbage
1 large pointed (sweetheart) cabbage, cut through the core into 6 wedges
3 tbsp grass-fed ghee or lard, melted
¾ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Squeeze of lemon
Method
Dry-brine the pork. Pat the chops dry and rub them all over with the salt, crushed fennel seeds, and pepper. Refrigerate uncovered 1–24 hours.
Roast the cabbage. Heat the oven to 425°F. Brush the cabbage wedges all over with ghee, season with salt, and lay them cut-side down on a sheet pan. Roast 25–30 minutes, flipping once, until tender and deeply caramelized at the edges. Finish with lemon. For more brassica roasting tips, see my Roasted Brassicas: A Foundation Guide.
Make the gremolata. Stir everything together.
Sear the pork. Take the chops out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking. Heat the ghee in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chops 4–5 minutes per side, until deeply golden and they reach 145°F in the center. Hold them on their fatty edges for the last minute to render the fat. Move them to a plate and rest 5 minutes. Pasture-raised pork is safe and juiciest at 145°F, with a blush of pink in the center.
Make the pan sauce. Lower the heat to medium. Add the sliced fennel and shallot to the same pan and cook 5–6 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the cider (if using), scraping up the browned bits. Add the broth and simmer 4–5 minutes, until reduced by about half. Off the heat, swirl in the cold butter, then add the lemon, salt, and any juices from the resting pork.
Plate. Set a pork chop on each plate with a wedge or two of roasted cabbage. Spoon the fennel pan sauce over the pork, and finish with a generous sprinkle of gremolata.
Storage: Pork, up to 4 days refrigerated; cabbage, up to 4 days; gremolata, up to 2 days (it's freshest the day it's made).
Nourishment Notes
Pasture-raised pork — complete protein, thiamine (B1, which pork is one of the richest sources of), B12, zinc, and selenium. Pasture-raised pork also has more vitamin D than conventional pork, since the pigs live outdoors in the sun.
Fennel and fennel seed — anethole, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber; fennel is traditionally used to support digestion and ease bloating.
Pointed cabbage — glucosinolates, vitamin C, and vitamin K.
Parsley, lemon, and garlic — vitamin K, vitamin C, apigenin, and allicin.
Bone broth — gelatin, glycine, and minerals.
Grass-fed butter and ghee — vitamins A and K2.
For your cycle: The cabbage's glucosinolates support estrogen metabolism through Phase 2 liver detoxification, which makes this especially supportive in the luteal phase, and fennel is traditionally used to ease menstrual bloating.
Sourcing
Pork chops — pasture-raised heritage pork from a local farm, or White Oak Pastures
Pointed cabbage, fennel, shallot, garlic, parsley, and lemons — organic, from a farmers' market
Fennel seeds — organic and non-irradiated
Dry hard cider or white wine (optional) — organic and dry, with no added sugar
Chicken bone broth — homemade from pasture-raised chicken, or Bonafide Provisions (organic, sold frozen)
Grass-fed butter, ghee, and lard — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows; grass-fed ghee; lard from pasture-raised pigs
Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt; Maldon for finishing
— Anna aka Food Marshall