Mirepoix Pork Chops

Mirepoix is such a lovely word, isn't it? Pronounced "meer-pwah", is a French word for sautéing carrots, onions and celery together. These aromatics, considered the "Holy Trinity" in French cuisine is the basis for hundreds of French dishes and many others throughout the world. There isn't much that smells better then these three ingredients (except for maybe bacon...mmmm).  I myself use mirepoix as a basic ingredient for tons of stuff; soups, stews, spaghetti sauces, etc.  But this is my favorite way to use and truly have it as the show of the dish, not just hidden in the background.

Mirepoix Pork Chops

Basic Mirepoix Recipe
1 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
When dicing the separate ingredients, try to make the dices as small and uniform as possible, both because it is aesthetically more pleasing and because the small pieces will cook more uniformly.

Sautéed Pork Chops
4 inch thick center-cut pork chops (bone in or boneless)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil or vegetable oil

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add pork chops and brown for 1 minute.  Turn and brown for 1 minute more. Reduce the heat to low, cover pan, and cook the pork chops for 5 minutes (4 minutes for boneless). Turn the chops, cover the pan again, and cook for 5 minutes more (4 if boneless). They will be well browned on the outside and slightly pink in the center.

Remove to a platter and top each pork chop with the mirepoix. Serve immediately.