Pasture-Raised Pork Chops with Hazelnut Cream, Stewed Apples, and Blistered Tomatoes

Juicy, golden pork chops with everything autumn loves to go with them: buttery stewed apples, a silky toasted-hazelnut cream, crispy hazelnuts and sage, blistered tomatoes on a smoky tomato purée, and a pan of garlicky broccoli and greens. It sounds like a lot, but each piece is simple, and they come together into a plate that feels like a special occasion.

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 1 hr 10 min · Total: 1 hr 30 min (plus 1-24 hours to dry brine) · Late summer into autumn · Best eaten: Sunday supper or dinner party

Complete Menu

• Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Sage and Thyme

• Hazelnut Cream Sauce with Crispy Hazelnuts and Sage

• Stewed Apples with Thyme

• Blistered Tomatoes and Smoky Tomato Purée (with optional chorizo)

• Sautéed Broccoli and Wilted Greens

Your Game Plan

• The day before (or at least 1 hour ahead): Salt the pork chops and pop them in the fridge.

• About 1 hr 30 min out: Toast the hazelnuts and make the hazelnut cream. Keep it warm over the lowest heat. Pull the chops from the fridge and heat the oven to 400°F.

• About 1 hr out: Crisp the chorizo (if using), blister the tomatoes, and blend the purée.

• About 40 min out: Make the stewed apples.

• About 25 min out: Sear the pork chops.

• While the chops rest: Sauté the broccoli and greens, crisp the hazelnuts and sage, rewarm the sauces, and plate.

Recipe 1 — Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Sage and Thyme

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 20 min · Total: 30 min (plus dry brining)

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in pasture-raised pork chops, 1 to 1¼ inches thick (10-12 oz each)

• 1½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• 2 tbsp pasture-raised lard or ghee

• 2 tbsp grass-fed butter

• 4 garlic cloves, smashed

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

• 4 fresh sage leaves

Method

1. Dry brine (1-24 hours ahead). Pat the chops dry and salt them on both sides. Refrigerate uncovered on a plate or rack.

2. Take the chill off. Pull the chops out 30 minutes before cooking, heat the oven to 400°F, and pat them dry again. Season with pepper.

3. Sear. Heat the lard in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the chops in and sear 3-4 minutes per side, until deep golden. Then use tongs to stand them on their fatty edge for a minute to render and crisp the fat cap.

4. Butter-baste. Turn the heat to medium. Add the butter, garlic, thyme, and sage. Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming butter over the chops for 1-2 minutes.

5. Check the temperature. Pull the chops at 140°F in the thickest part; they'll climb to a juicy, blush-pink 145°F as they rest. If they're not there yet, slide the skillet into the oven for 3-6 minutes.

6. Rest. Let them rest 5-10 minutes. Save the pan juices for the plate.

Recipe 2 — Hazelnut Cream Sauce with Crispy Hazelnuts and Sage

Yield: about 1½ cups sauce, plus crunchy topping · Active: 20 min · Total: 30 min

Ingredients

Toasted hazelnuts

• 1 cup raw hazelnuts

Hazelnut cream sauce

• 1 tbsp grass-fed butter

• 1 small shallot, minced

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• ⅔ cup of the toasted hazelnuts

• ¾ cup chicken bone broth, plus more to thin

• ½ cup heavy cream (or more broth plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for dairy-free)

• 1 tsp sherry vinegar

• ½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Crispy hazelnuts and sage

• ⅓ cup of the toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

• 1 tbsp grass-fed butter

• 8 fresh sage leaves

• Pinch of flaky sea salt

Method

1. Toast the hazelnuts. Spread them on a sheet pan and toast at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant and the skins crack. Wrap them in a kitchen towel for a minute, then rub to slip off most of the skins; a few stubborn bits are fine. Set aside ⅓ cup for the crispy topping.

2. Start the sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes until soft.

3. Simmer. Add the ⅔ cup hazelnuts and the broth. Simmer gently 5 minutes.

4. Blend. Transfer to a blender with the cream, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Blend until completely silky, adding a splash more broth if it's too thick to pour. Return it to the pan and keep it warm over the lowest heat. A spoonful of the pork pan juices stirred in right before serving is delicious.

5. Crisp the hazelnuts and sage. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and fry 30-60 seconds until crisp, then lift them onto a plate. Add the chopped hazelnuts and toss 1-2 minutes, until the butter turns nutty and brown and the hazelnuts are crisp. Sprinkle with flaky salt.

Recipe 3 — Stewed Apples with Thyme

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 10 min · Total: 15 min

Ingredients

• 3 medium crisp apples (Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or an heirloom variety), cored and cut into ½-inch wedges, skin on

• 1 tbsp grass-fed butter

• ¼ cup fresh apple cider or water

• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup

• ½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

• Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt

• 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar

Method

1. Brown. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and cook 3-4 minutes, until golden at the edges.

2. Stew. Add the cider, maple syrup, cinnamon, thyme, and salt. Cover and simmer on low 6-8 minutes, until tender but still holding their shape.

3. Finish. Stir in the vinegar and remove the thyme sprigs. Keep the skins on; they carry most of the apple's polyphenols.

Recipe 4 — Blistered Tomatoes and Smoky Tomato Purée (with optional chorizo)

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 15 min · Total: 15 min

Ingredients

• Optional: 4 oz dry-cured Spanish chorizo, diced (or fresh chorizo, crumbled)

• 3 cups cherry tomatoes

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• ½ tsp Pimentón de la Vera (sweet smoked paprika)

• 1 tsp sherry vinegar

• Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt

Method

1. Crisp the chorizo (optional). Cook it in a large skillet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until crisp and the pan fills with its paprika-red fat. Lift it out and leave the fat in the pan.

2. Blister the tomatoes. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the skillet and turn the heat to high. Add the tomatoes and let them sit 2 minutes, then shake the pan every so often for 3-4 minutes more, until the skins blister and some burst.

3. Add the aromatics. Add the garlic and smoked paprika for the last 30 seconds only, since paprika scorches fast. Season with salt.

4. Make the purée. Scoop about 1 cup of the tomatoes into a blender with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, the sherry vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.

5. Finish. Toss the crispy chorizo back in with the whole blistered tomatoes.

Recipe 5 — Sautéed Broccoli and Wilted Greens

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 10 min · Total: 10 min

Ingredients

• 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets (or 2 bunches broccolini)

• 1 bunch Swiss chard or lacinato kale, stems removed and leaves torn (or 5 oz baby spinach)

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or pork pan drippings

• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• Pinch of red pepper flakes

• Zest and juice of ½ lemon

• Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt

Method

1. Sear the broccoli. Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and let it sit 3 minutes, until it picks up some golden char.

2. Steam it tender. Add 2 tbsp water, cover, and cook 2 minutes until crisp-tender and bright green.

3. Wilt the greens. Push the broccoli aside, add the garlic and red pepper flakes for 30 seconds, then add the greens and toss 1-2 minutes until just wilted.

4. Finish with the lemon zest and juice and a pinch of salt.

Plating

Swoosh a big spoonful of the smoky tomato purée across each warm plate and set a pork chop on top. Spoon the hazelnut cream over part of the chop, letting it pool alongside. Add a pile of stewed apples, the blistered tomatoes (and chorizo), and the broccoli and greens. Finish everything with the crispy hazelnuts and sage and a drizzle of the pork pan juices.

Sourcing (essential picks)

• Pork chops — pasture-raised, ideally from a heritage breed like Berkshire (Kurobuta), Red Wattle, or Mangalitsa, which are more marbled and flavorful. From a local farm raising pigs on pasture, or White Oak Pastures

• Pasture-raised lard — render your own from pastured leaf fat, or buy from a local farm

• Hazelnuts — Oregon's Willamette Valley grows nearly all U.S. hazelnuts, so look for raw Oregon hazelnuts from a family farm. For the very best, Italy's Nocciola Piemonte IGP (the Tonda Gentile variety)

• Heavy cream — raw cream from a small pasture-raised dairy, or Kalona SuperNatural (grass-fed, low-temp pasteurized, non-homogenized)

• Chicken bone broth — homemade from pasture-raised bones, or Bonafide Provisions (organic, sold frozen)

• Apples — organic (conventional apples carry some of the highest pesticide residues), from a farmers' market or orchard; heirloom varieties are a treat

• Fresh apple cider — unfiltered, from a local orchard

• Cherry tomatoes — organic, peak-season, from a farmers' market

• Chorizo (optional) — Chorizo Ibérico de Bellota, from free-range Iberian pigs finished on acorns, or fresh chorizo from a local pasture-raised farm. Look for a label with just pork, paprika, garlic, and salt, since many brands add sugar or dextrose

• Smoked paprika — Pimentón de la Vera DOP, sweet (dulce)

• Sherry vinegar — Vinagre de Jerez DOP

• Broccoli, Swiss chard, kale, or spinach — organic, from a farmers' market

• Fresh sage, thyme, shallots, garlic, and lemons — organic (you're using the lemon zest)

• Grass-fed butter or ghee — cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows, or raw butter from a local dairy; Ancient Organics ghee

• Pure maple syrup — organic, Grade A dark

• Raw apple cider vinegar — with the mother (Bragg)

• Ceylon cinnamon, nutmeg, black peppercorns, and red pepper flakes — organic, non-irradiated, ground fresh

• Single-estate extra virgin olive oil — harvest-dated within the past year, in dark glass

• Baja Gold sea salt for cooking; fleur de sel de Guérande or Maldon for finishing

Storage

• Cooked pork chops: Refrigerated up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a covered skillet with a splash of broth, or slice thin and enjoy cold

• Hazelnut cream sauce: Refrigerated up to 4 days. It thickens as it chills, so rewarm it gently with a splash of broth

• Crispy hazelnuts and sage: Airtight at room temperature up to 3 days

• Stewed apples: Refrigerated up to 5 days

• Blistered tomatoes and tomato purée: Refrigerated up to 4 days

• Broccoli and greens: Refrigerated up to 3 days; best fresh

Leftover transformations: Slice cold pork thin over greens with stewed apples and crispy hazelnuts for a next-day salad; spoon warm stewed apples over raw yogurt for breakfast; toss the tomato purée and blistered tomatoes with fried eggs for a Spanish-style brunch; stir leftover hazelnut cream into steamed vegetables or spoon it over roast chicken.

Support for the Female Infradian Rhythm

Pasture-raised pork is one of the richest food sources of thiamine (vitamin B1), with zinc, selenium, B12, and complete protein, all steadying through the luteal phase. Hazelnuts are among the richest nuts in vitamin E, with magnesium and manganese that support luteal-phase mood and cramp relief. Broccoli and greens bring glucosinolates, folate, and magnesium, supporting estrogen metabolism through Phase 2 liver detoxification. Cooked tomatoes deliver lycopene in its most absorbable form. Apples bring pectin and quercetin for steady digestion. It's a grounding, mineral-rich plate for the autumn transition and the luteal phase.

Nourishment Notes

Pasture-raised pork — thiamine (pork is one of the best food sources of B1), zinc, selenium, B12, complete protein. Pigs raised outdoors in the sun store more vitamin D in their fat.

Pasture-raised lard — oleic acid (the same monounsaturated fat that dominates olive oil), vitamin D, and a heat-stable frying fat.

Hazelnuts — vitamin E (among the richest of all nuts), manganese, copper, magnesium, oleic acid. The thin skins carry proanthocyanidins, so a few leftover flecks are a bonus.

Apples — quercetin, pectin, and polyphenols concentrated in the skin. Stewing softens them into gentle, digestion-friendly fiber.

Cherry tomatoes — lycopene, vitamin C, potassium. Cooking tomatoes in olive oil makes their lycopene far more absorbable.

Pimentón de la Vera — capsanthin and other carotenoids, plus its signature oak-smoked depth.

Broccoli — glucosinolates, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, fiber. A quick sear and short steam keep it crisp and bright.

Swiss chard, kale, and spinach — folate, magnesium, vitamin K, iron, chlorophyll.

Fresh sage and thyme — rosmarinic acid (sage), thymol (thyme), and traditional digestive support.

Grass-fed butter and cream — fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K2, plus butyrate and CLA.

Chicken bone broth — gelatin, glycine, proline, trace minerals.

Fresh garlic and shallots — allicin, quercetin, and organosulfur compounds.

Raw apple cider vinegar and sherry vinegar — acetic acid for blood-sugar balance and bright flavor.

Ceylon cinnamon — cinnamaldehyde and blood-sugar support.

Extra virgin olive oil — oleic acid, hydroxytyrosol, polyphenols.

Baja Gold sea salt — over 90 trace minerals.

— Anna aka Food Marshall