Grilled Pork Chops with Rosemary and Sage

I spoke a little about my hesitance in using rosemary in a post last week. I am glad to say, however, that I am a true convert now. The Rosemary and Mandarin Muffins I made then were a delightful surprise and as I mentioned in that post, I used the remainder of that fresh rosemary to marinate a few pork chops, which also turned out great.

I must admit I was initially inspired by a recipe I read on Epicurious that called for using fresh rosemary, sage, garlic, fennel seeds, white wine and olive oil on a large pork shoulder roast. The end result sounded divine, so I fiddled with the ingredients to make my meager pork chops--leaving out the fennel seeds, I used rosemary, sage, garlic, coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, white wine and olive oil to make a paste, which I rubbed into the pork chops. Having the leisure to, I let the pork chops marinate overnight and then grilled them on a stovetop grill pan. The trick here, of course, is to heat the grill pan really well, get a good sear on the pork chops and shy away from overcooking (I seared them about 7 minutes per side). The flavors were great and the chops turned out pick-the-bones-and-gnaw-at-them good.

I squeezed a bit of lemon on top just before serving and accompanied these flavorful bone-in pork chops with a creamy orzo with peas (much of the goodness of risotto, with a little less TLC required--and a dish I'll post about a little later).

Pork Chops with Rosemary and Sage

Makes 6 Pork Chops

2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 tablespoon olive oil

6 bone-in pork chops

Place the first seven ingredients in a food processor and pulse until paste-like and well combined. Rub the mixture into both sides of the pork chops and set aside for a few minutes (or if marinating, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight).

Heat a grill pan til very hot and sear pork chops over medium-high heat until just cooked through (about 7 minutes per side). Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over and serve.