Herb Marinated Pork Chops with Apple Chutney

These savory herb marinated pork chops are the perfect recipe for transitioning to fall. A quick marinade infuses them with flavor and apple chutney adds a sweet-tart finish.

This is one of those recipes that looks fancy, but is really just big fall flavor in a simple package. Here’s how to make it.

Marinate Pork

The key step to building flavor in this meal is the marinade. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs and some garlic and let those pork chops marinate for a bit.

While rosemary and thyme are tried and true, you can use nearly any combination of herbs in the marinade. Over here at the Inquiring Chef homestead, the herb garden is still (!) cranking out fresh herbs faster than we can use them. 

Let those chops marinate for anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours and they will be tender and packed with flavor by the time you cook them.

Make Apple Chutney

While the pork chops are marinating put some chopped apples on the stovetop to simmer in a sweet and tart sauce. The result is a sweet and tart chutney that can just as easily be served over meat or fish as it can be stirred into yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast.

If you’d like to serve the pork chops over a grain, whip that up at the same time. I usually have quinoa or farro in the fridge, so I can just heat it up to round out dinners, but brown rice or pasta would be great here as well.

And when it’s time to serve this meal, it’s as simple as searing those chops in a hot skillet or throwing them on the grill.

Because we spent 5 years in Bangkok (land of eternal summer) I never get tired of this time of year when the nights get cooler and the days shorter. It’s a welcome shift from hot summer days to cozy fall nights.