Pork Chops with Chard

I've never been a huge fan of pork chops, but I don't try them very often, so maybe they aren't getting a fair shake? I found some in the freezer this morning and took them out to defrost. Then I suggested to Mark that "we" make them for dinner tonight.....that's kind of the way it works.

I did do all the grueling on-line research and found a variety of recipes with the ingredients that we have on hand, and in the end, we comprised and came up with our own recipe, and here it is!

• 2 pork chops 1 " thick (about 1 lb. total)
  
• 4 cups chard, washed & cut into 1" strips **
  
• 1/4 c. herbed bread crumbs (optional)
  
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. grated fresh Parmesan
  
• 1/4 cup shredded Fontina or Goat cheese, or any cheese you like
• sea or kosher salt 
• fresh ground pepper
  

Preheat oven to 450 

Coat a large casserole dish (11 1/2" x 14 1/2") with olive oil

In a separate bowl, toss red char strips with olive oil, salt and pepper

Layer the chard in the bottom of the casserole dish

In same bowl, coat the pork chops with olive oil and rub with salt, pepper and seasoned bread crumbs

Grade the fresh Parmesan and other cheeses and spread over the chard

Lay the breaded pork chops on top of the chard.

Bake for about 18 minutes or until done, remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

If you are wondering what wine might be good with this dish, we suggest a wine based on the sangiovese grape, noted to work well with pork chops. Or, you might try a good hearty blend, we like the Harmonius Syrah and Cabernet blend from the San Antonio Valley in CA.

**Swiss Chard: You can use either green or red Swiss chard for this dish. You'll want to rinse the leaves thoroughly before cooking, but don't dry them. The moisture will help keep the chard from drying out during cooking.