Gordon Ramsay’s Baked Pork Chops w. Picante Sauce

Ingredients for Pork chops:

• 4 pork chops, about 9oz each
• a little olive oil
• few thyme sprigs
• few rosemary sprigs (leaves only)
• 1/2 head of garlic separated into cloves (unpeeled)
• sea salt and black pepper

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion (peeled and minced)
• 1 red bell pepper (seeded and minced)
• 1 red chili (seeded and minced)
• 7oz cremini mushrooms (trimmed and finely sliced)
• 14oz can chopped tomatoes
• sea salt and black pepper
• 1 tsp sugar

Directions:

Chops:

Heat your oven to 400 F. Place the pork chops in a large, lightly oiled baking dish and scatter the thyme sprigs, rosemary leaves, garlic cloves, and salt over the top. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until pork chops are cooked through. Make the sauce while your waiting.

Sauce:

Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and add the onion, red bell pepper, chile, and mushrooms. Stir over high heat for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Tip in the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and add the sugar and a splash of water. Simmer for 10-12 minutes until the onions are tender and the tomato sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Putting it all together:

Take the pork chops out of the oven and let rest in a warm place for 5 minutes. Pour any pan juices into the sauce and reheat. Ladle a generous amount of sauce over the chops to serve.