After a two hour hike on the Fair Hill Trails and an afternoon volunteering at Fair Weather Farm at Fair Hill, I was famished by the time I got home Thursday evening. I feed my fur-gang and without much thought, I threw together this quick pork and pasta recipe for my dinner. The fennel seed and lemon really complimented the seared pork chop and the pasta really hit the spot after a beautifully exhausting day spent out in the sunshine.

Pan Seared Chop with Fennel Spiked Zucchini Tomato Pasta 

Ingredients:

1 boneless Pork chop

1 serving Angel Hair, or pasta of choice, cooked per pkg instructions

1/2 Zucchini, quartered

1 lg Tomato, chopped

1 tsp Fennel seed, or to taste

1/4 cup Quinoa Flour

2 to 3 tbsp EVOO, or oil of choice

1 tsp Smoked Paprika powder

1 Lemon wedge

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Cook pasta. On a cutting board, pound the pork chop with a meat mallet on both sides to tenderize it. In a shallow dish or plate, add the Quinoa flour, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and mix until well combined. Dredge the pork chop in the flour. Set aside. Add the EVOO to a cast iron skillet over med high flame and heat until the oil shimmers. Once the oil is hot, dredge the pork chop in the flour once more, shaking off any additional flour, then carefully add it to the hot oil. Sear the chop on both sides until crisp and golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness of your chop. Remove the chop from the skillet and set it on a paper towel lined cutting board to drain off the excess oil. Salt and pepper the chop. To the same pan add the fennel seed, zucchini, and tomato and cook on med high flame until the tomatoes have reduced and the sauce thickened. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and carefully toss the pasta in the sauce until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve immediately with the seared chop and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice. I also like to garnish my serving with a generous amount of cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes.