Receta Paleo diet friendly stuffed pork chops
Paleo diet friendly stuffed pork chops
Before the advent of the Food Network, one of my favorite PBS cooking shows was Justin Wilson’s, I gar-on-tee! I’ll never forget the episode that featured Pork Stuffed Pork – yes a pork chop stuffed with more pork. It seemed like a heart attack on a plate.
Memories of the pork stuffed pork episode can back to me while reading The Paleo Diet, by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. The recipes in it are very meat centered and very “clean,” so a good to fit in with my food sensitivities. However, when I saw the Paleo Diet recipe for chicken liver stuffed pork chops, I had to laugh. Who knew that Justin was (sort of ) ahead of his time?
Yuck, chicken liver!
Now, I’m sure you’re saying, “Ew, chicken livers!” I know my husband did when I told him about it. But I LOVE chicken liver! I always have as my mom’s chopped liver was out of this world. While other people search New York City for the perfect sweets or black and white cookie, I look for delis that sell chopped liver. One spoonful and I’m transported back to my childhood.
However, if chicken liver skeeves you, you can use mushrooms as a substitution – about two mushrooms per chicken liver. I chose to keep the recipe to two servings since I know most kids don’t like chicken liver. However, if you’re using mushrooms, feel free to double the recipe and serve it to the whole family.
I served this with a Simple Beet Salad.
Chicken Liver Stuffed Pork Chops
Inspired by Justin Wilson and The Paleo Diet
Makes 2
Ingredients:
2 boneless, lean pork chops (about 6-8 ounces each) trimmed of all visible fat
4 chicken livers, chopped
2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fennel bulb, finely chopped
cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
pepper to taste
Directions:
Take a paring knife and carefully slit the pork chops horizontally to make pockets.
Spray a saute pan with cooking spay and saute the livers, celery and fennel until transparent.
Add chopped chicken livers until thoroughly cooked through.
Season to taste with pepper.
Stuff pork with the liver mixture and use metal skewer to close pockets.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet, add chops and sear them over high heat on both sides. (Be careful not to scratch your no-stick pan with the metal skewers!)
Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Place stuffed chops in the dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until tender. Do not overcook pork! It should be slightly pink not gray!
Nutritional information
Calories 686
- Calories from Fat 471
- Total Fat 52.4g
- Saturated Fat 17.5g
- Trans Fat 0.0g
- Cholesterol 343mg
- Sodium 153mg
- Total Carbohydrates 3.9g
- Dietary Fiber 1.1g
- Protein 48.0g
- Vitamin A 95%
- Vitamin C 21%
Calcium 10%
Iron 46%
Nutrition Grade B+ from CalorieCount
Weight Watchers POINTS = 9 points for HALF a stuffed pork chop! To lower even more use veggies only and sear chops in less olive oil.
This Mama’s tips
Boneless pork chops can be pretty big. You might want to split one between two people with smaller appetites.
If you’re on the paleo diet, you may want to add more veggies like carrots and have have a 1:1 ratio of flaxseed oil to olive oil, so you get all your Omega-3s in.
Believe it or not, the pork chop is pretty darn good cold. Slice it up and add the pork to a leafy green salad.
If you cannot find fresh fennel at your grocery store, use onion or double the celery.