Pork Cutlets with Pears and Port Sauce

Pork and pears are a natural combination. Both are most appealing in the fall/winter months and conjure up images of the kind of delicious fare one might find at a farmhouse in France. This dish is what I would call quick comfort food – certainly practical for a weeknight, yet satisfying enough to make your family look forward to dinner. Here is the recipe:

Pork Cutlets with Pears and Port Sauce

2 Bosc or Bartlett pears, ripe but not soft, peeled, cored and quartered
2 T unsalted butter
8 boneless pork cutlets, sliced thin
flour for dredging
1 t dried thyme
2 T olive oil
¼ c minced red onion
½ c Tawny port
¾ c low sodium chicken broth
1 T flour
1 T unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet (not nonstick!), melt 2 T butter and saute pears on medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.

Prepare a dredging plate of several tablespoons of flour with the thyme leaves, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Heat 1/2 T of olive oil in the skillet until hot. Lightly dredge the pork cutlets in the flour and saute 1 to 2 minutes on each side until just cooked and lightly browned. Work in batches of 2 cutlets at a time with 1/2 T olive oil per batch and transfer pork to a platter kept in a warm oven.

When the pork cutlets are cooked, add the red onion to the pan and saute about 2 minutes until slightly tender. Pour in the port and deglaze the pan for 2 minutes, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour in all but 1 T of the broth and mix the remaining broth with the 1 T of flour in a small bowl for thickening of the sauce. Add flour mixture to skillet. Cook on medium heat until the sauce reduces by half, about ten minutes. Add 1 T butter to the sauce as well as salt and pepper to taste. Return the pears and pork to the sauce and combine.

Transfer the pork, pears and port sauce to a platter for serving.

Serves 4