RECIPE: An easy springtime sheet-pan dinner
Sheet-pan meals are a weeknight staple for good reason — they come together quickly with little prep and even less clean-up. The only trick? Getting the timing right. The typical sheet-pan meal includes a protein and at least one or two vegetables, which may cook at different rates. This means you usually can’t just throw everything on a sheet pan, pop it in the oven and hope for the best.
For the springtime sheet-pan recipe below, I’ve paired pork chops with relatively hearty fennel wedges and quick-cooking asparagus. The cook times for this combination are easily staggered. To ensure the pork chops and fennel cook quickly, preheat the sheet pan along with the oven, and roast those two components for 15 minutes. Add the asparagus and place the dish under the broiler to finish cooking, brown the pork, and cook the asparagus. By the time the asparagus has turned tender and lightly charred, the pork will be a light rosy pink in the center and the fennel fork-tender. All it needs is a spritz of lemon, a few shavings of Parmesan, and a handful of fennel fronds.
Sheet-Pan Pork Chops with Asparagus and Fennel
- 2 bulbs fennel, bulbs trimmed and cut into 1-inch wedges, plus a few fronds for serving
- 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (1- to 1 1/2-inch-thick) boneless pork loin chops
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- About 1 ounce Parmesan cheese
- Place a sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven. Set the other oven rack in the position closest to the broiler. Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
- While the oven is heating, place the fennel wedges in a medium bowl. Zest the lemon over the fennel. Add 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Use 1 tablespoon olive oil to lightly coat the sides of the chops. When the oven is hot, carefully remove the sheet pan and add the fennel. Spread in an even layer. (Reserve the bowl.) Nestle the pork chops in the fennel. Bake on the middle rack for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in the reserved bowl, toss the asparagus with the final tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When the 15-minute timer is up, remove the sheet pan and switch the oven to broil. Spread the asparagus over the fennel. Return to the oven on the top rack and cook until the vegetables are lightly charred and the pork is browned and registers 145 degrees with an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
- Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the pork and vegetables. Use a vegetable peeler to shave Parmesan cheese over the pork and vegetables, garnish with the fennel fronds, and serve.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 439 calories (percent of calories from fat, 52), 40 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams total sugars, 5 grams fiber, 26 grams total fat (7 grams saturated), 106 milligrams cholesterol, 772 milligrams sodium.Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
