Berbere. If you haven't made it before, and you like spicy food, I would suggest you make this spice mixture. It was FABULOUS! I found out about when making this recipe. And yes, it's something we've made a few times. I just keep forgetting about it come menu making time. It's an Ethiopian spice mixture that has a range of flavors in it from cinnamon to fenugreek to cayenne. It's rich with flavor and has a nice kick of heat to it depending on your cayenne tolerance. I usually shy on the milder side, but S likes it hot, so push my boundaries when whipping this up.
We've had a container in the pantry for a little while and well, since I'm pantry cooking, I decided to use it. BUT I didn't want to make the usual chicken dish. I thought, "Hm....we have cornflakes. Why not toss the two together, coat some chops, and voila!" And that's EXACTLY what I did!
I, for some reason, didn't have onion flakes when I made this batch and I should have ground it in my spice grinder, but I didn't. C'est la vie! S helped with this and tossed the two together.
After I took this shot, he promptly asked me for his pay for the photo shoot. LOL He' SO funny. *sigh*
The rest is simple! Heat a pan with some oil on medium heat and cook on each side until the chops are done.
I also made some coconut rice and roasted some eggplant to finish off the dish. Have I told you about my rice cooker? Yes? Oh...okay. Well it really is AWESOME! I put 2 scoops of rice, 3 scoops of chicken broth and 1 scoop of coconut milk (shaken well) into the cooker and let it do it's thing.
For those without a rice cooker, bring 3 cups of low fat chicken broth and 1 cup of coconut milk in a saucepan over medium high heat and add 2 cups of rice. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
Crispy Berbere Pork Chops
- 1 T coriander seed
- 1 T cardamom pods
- 1 T whole allspice
- 1 T fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 t whole cloves
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon
- 1 T black peppercorns
- 1 T sea salt, ground
- 1 T turmeric
- 2 t cayenne powder
- 2 T paprika
- 1 T onion flakes
- 1 1/2 c cornflake crumbs
- 1/8 c Berbere mix
- 1 pound pork chops, trimmed lean only
- 1/2 c egg substitute
- 3 T extra virgin olive oil
- For Berbere:
- Heat a small pan over medium heat and toast coriander seeds, cardamom pods, allspice, fenugreek seeds, whole cloves, cinnamon stick and black peppercorns until fragrant. Grind in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder). Add remaining ingredients and ground until well blended. Store in an airtight container.
- For pork chops:
- Combine the cornflake crumbs and berbere in a shallow dish. Pour egg substitute into a shallow dish. Coat the pork chops in egg wash then cornflake crumbs. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Place the pork chops into the pan and cook 4 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink the center. Serve immediately.
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