Pickled Aji Peppers with Pork Chops

Aji chile peppers native to South America are commonly used in Peru, the land of the Incas.  Neighbors Maria and John  Jones cultivated this bright-orange chile in their garden with seeds from Peru.  The Aji is stunning and colorful that I needed a recipe to highlights it’s presence in the dish.  They are thick-fleshed pepper, fruity and flavorful and perfect to pair with pork chops.

The recipe I have chosen is created by Bamonte’s restaurant in Brooklyn and published in Jan 8, 2013 by Saveur magazine. The original recipe uses pickled cherry peppers so quick-pickled the Ajis to simulate the Italian style cherry peppers. Sautéed garlic until golden, peppers and wine is a bomb of a sauce.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients

Pickling

6 aji peppers

1 cup vinegar

⅓ up water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 clove garlic

Pork chops

2 (1inch thick) bone-in chops

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 aji peppers cut in thirds

¼ cup dry white wine

¼ cup chicken stock

Preparation

Pickling

Poke holes in the peppers on all sides using an ice pick.  In a 1 quart saucepan, add peppers, vinegar, water, sugar and garlic and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 12-15 minutes until the peppers are soft.  Cool the peppers and store them in the pickling solution.  They’ll keep a week in the refrigerator.

If the peppers are very hot in taste, carefully slice them open and remove the seeds and veins.

Pork chop preparation.

The Saveur recipe instructs you to roast the chops in the oven, but if you use chops that are ¾ inches thick or less, they cook fine in the fry pan.  Use a thermometer and cook to 140° F.

Heat oven to 425°. Season chops with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Fry chops, flipping once, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer pan to oven; roast until pork is cooked through, 18-20 minutes. Transfer chops to a plate. Return pan to medium heat, add remaining oil, garlic, and peppers; cook until garlic is golden, 3-4 minutes. Raise heat to high, add wine and stock; cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Spoon sauce over chops.

Serve with mashed potato.

Note

Ajis peppers are described as offering a lot of fruitiness and less sharp and harsh, more full-bodied and more subtle than poblanos.  In the USA you find aji mostly as a canned product. Seems Peruvians mostly use these peppers in a pureed sauces.

Buen Provecho

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