Pork chops with mustard-tomato sauce with mushroom risotto

I managed to steal David away from his doctoral diligence for a bit to whip up a favourite pork chop recipe of ours, that is, chops topped with a delicious mustard, cream and tomato sauce. The recipe was originally sourced from Julia Child's seminal text Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I remember the first time David made it, we were a bit dismayed as we didn't have tomato paste (which the original recipe calls for), but we did have a couple tomatoes on hand. David made such a delicious paste from the fresh tomatoes that we haven't bothered to invest in paste since.

Recipe

adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French CookingServes 22 pork chops (approx. 8 oz. each, 1-1/2 in. thick)2 Tb rendered fat2 Tb butter3 garlic cloves, pressed1/4 cup whipping creamsalt & pepper1-1/2 tomatoes, chopped2 tbsp Dijon mustard1/2 tsp each dry oregano, thyme, parsleyPreheat oven to 325 F. Heat fat in oven-proof saute pan until moderately hot, then brown the chops, on each side. Then, transfer to a side dish. Season them with salt and pepper. Drain fat from the pan. Put in butter, dry herbs and crushed garlic and return pork chops to the pan. Baste in butter and set pan in preheated oven until done (approx. 20 minutes).Mustard, cream & tomato sauceWhile pork chops are cooking, simmer tomatoes in a small saucepan until reduced to a paste. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Stir in cream and mustard. Continue simmering until thick.

Recipe

Serves 21 cup arborio rice2 Tb rendered pork fat2 Tb butter4 large, brown mushrooms, sliced1/4 onion, chopped2-1/2 cups chicken stock1/4 cup whipping creamsalt & pepper, to tasteSaute mushrooms in fat until just done . Remove from pan and set aside. Add butter to pan and saute onions for a few minutes. Add in rice and stir will, coating with the butter and onions. Add in stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, waiting so that each batch can be absorbed by the rice. When rice is cooked but still firm, stir in cream and mushrooms. Season to taste.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: the recipe calls for whipping cream, but, since we had it on hand, we substituted in crème fraiche. If concerned about using fat (or simply aren't the type to save one's fat in little jars in the freezer), butter is a happy alternative.I noted this time that the sauce definitely aired on the mustard side (of which David is a big fan). I'd probably reduce the Dijon in the sauce by a half a tbsp, particularly if you're not a fan of a strong mustard flavour. Otherwise, everything was delicious. I love the tomato-mustard combination, such a punch of flavours. Excellent also drizzled over top of the mushroom risotto.