The laborious roast, clearly, is off the table for midweek dinner. Instead, we kept the signature flavors in mind for this recipe from our book “Tuesday Nights Mediterranean,” which features weeknight-friendly meals from the region. Rather than overnight cooking, these pork chops are ready in just over half an hour.
To further streamline the cooking, we narrowed the ingredients to those best suited for searing on the stovetop. A blend of rosemary, fennel seed, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper, blitzed in a spice grinder to a fine powder, seasons the meat with herbaceous flavor. We finish the chops with a simple lemon-accented, butter-enriched pan sauce. To balance the richness of the pork, we top it with a bright, quick salad of parsley, scallions and sliced fennel bulb, simply dressed with more lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil and the remainder of the spice blend.
When shopping, opt for chops that are close in size so they cook at the same rate. And if your fennel bulb still has fronds attached, chop about ¼ cup and add them to the bowl with the fennel. They’re loaded with flavor.