Sauteed Pork Loin Chop with Pomegranate Reduction and Pumpkin Spice Baked Yams

    Pomegranate season is here in Northern California and we celebrate it with making Pomegranate Reduction sauces for seafood, pork and fowl. Today's meal is sauteed pork loin chops served on the pomegranate reduction and accompanied with pumpkin spice baked yam sections. Very Holiday seasonal and quite a delicious combination.
    One pomegranate yields about one cup of juice that in turn makes enough reduction for at least six servings so we always have enough left for at least one more meal. This time we are going to try using the leftover reduction to make a sweet and sour salad dressing that probably will be delicious.

SERVES:                  2
PREP TIME:             15 minutes
COOKING TIME:      45 minutes

We love the bone-in pork chops.We buy the pork loin roast and cut it into chops. They are about an inch thick and simply wonderful to eat. They're very tender and juicy! Since it's pomegranate season we couldn't resist making this sauce again. The flavor combines really well with the pork.

INGREDIENTS:
For The Chop
2 loin pork chops
Sprinkle with granulated garlic on both sides
Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper on both sides

For the Pomegranite Sauce
1 large fresh organic pomegranate, seeded; seeds blended and juice well filtered or 3/4 C of pomegranate juice with no sugar added.
1 1/3 T honey
1/3 t ground coriander
Pinch of ground cinnamon
2/3 T of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 t of cornstarch

For The Yam
2 small yams
1 1/2 t organic brown sugar
1 t pumpkin pie spice
Olive oil spray

PREPARATION
1. Spray yams with olive oil spray and season with pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Place on baking sheet in a preheated oven @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
2. After seeding and juicing the pomegranate, pour the juice into a saucepan. Stir in the honey, coriander, and cinnamon and heat to a low boil.
3. Mix the cornstarch with the lemon juice in a small bowl and pour into the saucepan.
4. Cook at a low boil until the sauce is reduced and thickened to a hot syrup consistency. Cover and allow to cool to room temperature before serving. It will thicken up a bit while cooling.
5. Season pork chops with granulated garlic and pepper. Splash a glug of olive oil in a saute pan and cook on low to medium heat for about 6 minutes per side until inside temperature reaches 150 degrees. Cover loosely with aluminum foil while cooking.

PLATING
1. You can get as creative as you like with the plating of the sauce. We chose to splash the sauce under the chop but you can do whatever pleases your sense of appearance. As you can see, we placed the yam slices around the chop then added some Italian parsley for a touch of color.
2. Enjoy this wonderful mix of sweet and sour flavors.

Bon appetit,
Tom and Anita