Aside from steak, pork chops are one of my favorite meats. We had chops often while growing up New York, largely because with seven children to feed, pricier cuts of meat were beyond the family budget.
Kyiv's markets offer excellent cuts of pork, and the price is right. I prefer center-cut bone-in chops, but feel free to experiment.
This recipe calls for breadcrumbs. Rather than buying prepared crumbs, I dry and grate the ends of loaves and save the crumbs in a sealed container. For the homemade applesauce, I like to use tart semi-sweet apples.
For pork chops:
2 cups milk.
2 teaspoons salt.
8 half-inch thick pork chops (approximately 2 pounds).
4 cups bread crumbs.
1 tablespoon minced garlic.
1/2 teaspoon dried crumbled rosemary.
1/2 teaspoon dried crumbled thyme.
3 tablespoons sunflower oil.
3 tablespoons butter.
For applesauce:
3 pounds apples.
1/4 cup water.
1/2 cup sugar.
1 tablespoon honey.
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.
In a three-quart heavy saucepan, combine peeled, cored and chopped apples with the other applesauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to low and cover for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, mash the apple mixture and place in large serving bowl. Applesauce can be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated.
Marinate the pork chops in milk and 1 teaspoon of salt for at least 1 hour, but not longer than 3 hours. Remove one chop from the bowl at a time, allowing the excess milk to drip off.
In a mixing bowl, add breadcrumbs, rosemary, thyme, the remaining salt and garlic. Dredge the chop in the crumb mixture, pressing it lightly so that the crumbs adhere to the meat. Place the chops on a large platter or tray.
Heat oil and butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the chops for three minutes on each side until golden brown. Add additional oil and butter as needed.
While this process is going on set oven on low setting. Transfer each batch of chops to a tray in an oven set on law heat to keep the chops warm until served.
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