Pistachio Pork

By now you should know that I will try just about anything that involves taking a lean cut of meat and wrapping it in some sort of bready, crumbly coating. Insert topping here.  So it's really no surprise that covering pork chops in homemade pistachio butter was a big hit.

 Pistachio-Crusted Pork Chops
1/2 C shelled pistachios
1 clove garlic
1T lemon juice
Salt
1/4 C breadcrumbs
Four 1-inch thick boneless pork chops
1 large egg, beaten
2T olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F.  Add pistachios, garlic, lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp salt to a food processor and grind until smooth.  Transfer to a shallow bowl and whisk in breadcrumbs.  Season pork with salt and pepper.  Dip each chop into the egg and then roll in breadcrumb mixture.  In a large cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add chops and cook until golden, about 2 minutes on each side.  Transfer to a baking sheet coated in nonstick spray.  Bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes (adjusting for thickness of chop).  Adapted from Rachael Ray.

Beyond delicious.  I could have just eaten the pureed pistachio mixture with a spoon.  There were no leftovers, always a good sign!