Summer to me is synonymous with grilling – even if it is cold and rainy outside. For some reason, the fact that it is summer encourages me to buy meat at the market that tastes great on the grill. My husband is the grill master of the house. So, I have a confession to make…I don’t even know how to use the grill, or turn it on. I really rely on him to do the grilling, which means I can spend more time baking. We all win.
I saw this recipe in Cooking Light, and it looked so simple, I had to make it right away – especially because my market basket just happened to come with all the other ingredients. Everything about this dish was terrific. The yogurt gave the pork just a little extra punch, and it also went perfectly with the cucumber tomato salad. The next night I served the rest of the salad with the leftover yogurt, and it made a wonderful dressing. If you don’t have a grill, you could easily do the pork in a grill pan on the stove – but it is summer (at least in spirit here), so at my house we grill outside.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops
- 3/4 cup plain fat-free Greek-style yogurt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 1/2 cups diced plum tomatoes (about 2 medium)
- 1 cup diced seeded cucumber
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- Cooking spray
Preparation
Combine 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, oregano, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and garlic in a zip-top plastic bag. Add pork to bag, and seal. Marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature, turning after 10 minutes. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, yogurt, 1 tablespoon dill, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk. Cover and chill. Combine tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Sprinkle tomato mixture with 1/8 teaspoon salt; toss to combine.
Heat a grill. Remove pork from bag, and discard marinade. Sprinkle both sides of pork evenly with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add pork to grill, and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove pork from grill, and let stand for 2 minutes. Place 3/4 cup tomato mixture on each of 4 plates, and top each serving with 1 pork chop and about 3 tablespoons yogurt mixture.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Greek-Style Pork Chops
First Look, Then Cook 