Marinated Pork Cutlet with Sweet Pepper Medley

I picked up the chops at Mitchell's. I have finally started to realize that even though the per gram price might be slightly higher, the quality of the meat and the extra care to trim off all the fat is worth the price. It's actually a better deal than supermarket meat because bite for bite, Mitchell's meat tastes better.

I sat mesmerized in front of the tv for longer than I should so it was a few minutes after 6pm when I headed for the kitchen. I had to marinate the meat and serve dinner at 7pm so Fern can get to his meeting. I pulled out my Food Saver marinator and added to it:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

3 cloves garlic minced

sprig fresh thyme

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp salt

mixed pepper

Whisk and lay the chops in the marinade. Turn them over a few times to make sure they are coated, then put the lid on and suck the air out. This is supposed to do hours of marinating in 20 minutes. It won't tenderize the meat in that time but it does get flavour right into the meat.

I put my potatoes on the boil for mashed and diced up an onion, celery stick and 3 small yellow and orange peppers. I sweated the onions and celery for a few minutes then added the peppers and plenty of salt.  I took about half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and dropped it into the peppers. Stirred it around and let them cook. I let air into the marinator slowly so the marinade would be drawn into the meat as pressure increases. I had a pan hot and put the chops directly into it. I turned them over a few times so the chops didn't curl up.

The potatoes had butter, salt and milk. The only way to screw up mashed potatoes is to use an immersion blender on them. It turns them to a thick unpalatable paste. The chop was absolutely delicious, plenty of marinade flavour. Marinating longer would have been better but it was certainly good enough.

Fern liked the pepper medley. I sort of did. I didn't put the mustard in early enough for it to caramelize so the sweetness had a bitter undertone. I felt like something was missing from the medley. I think some snap peas or something to give a little crunch would have been welcome. Also, the medley needed another flavour to tie it together. Fern thought it was delicious just as it was so I'll keep my eyes open for an idea before I try the medley again.