Grilled Orange Pork Loin Chops and Savory Farro

What do you call a pig that takes karate?
Porkchop.

Every once and a while, I like consult a cookbook or two and try new recipes.  We received The Winemaker Cooks by Christine Hanna for Christmas and thought we would try out the "Orange and Dijon-Marinated Pork Tenderloin"  (adapted a bit) with some pork loin chops.

Hanna Winery & Vineyards is located and based in Healdsburg, California and the tasting room is open daily 10-4.  Christine Hanna,  president and author of The Winemaker Cooks, took over the family winery founded by her father Dr. Elias S. Hanna.  Her cookbook has over 100 thoughtful recipes organized by seasons, meals, and wine pairings.  If you are anything like us and enjoy wine (while cooking and eating), this book is an A+. 

To balance out the sweetness of the orange-Dijon-wine sauce I made a Savory Farro, earthy with onions, kale and toasted pecans.

Here's what you need (we made enough for 4 people):
For the pork:
4 pork loin chops
6 cloves of garlic
2 oranges (zest from 1, juice from 2)
3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup of savingnon blanc
salt and pepper to taste
 For the farro:
1 cup of farro
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 handfuls of small chopped kale
1/2 onion, diced
2/3 cup of pecans



6 cloves of garlic.

Smash, peel and dice it up.

Add garlic and 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard.

Orange.

Zest 1 orange and add to the marinade party.

Juice the orange.  Then, juice another one.

 Add juice of 2 oranges to the marinade.

Add olive oil, salt and pepper.

Mix it all together.

Add pork loin chops to a dish.

Top with marinade, cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.  I made the marinade in the morning, along with the farro, then at dinner time all we had to do was grill up.

To make the Savory Farro: Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a large saucepan.

Add 1 cup of farro.

Move it around in the butter.  Toast up a bit.

Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, place a lid on the farro and bring down to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until tender.

Onion.

Dice up 1/2 the onion.

Add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to a frying pan.

Add onions, salt and pepper.

Move'um around and let'um brown up.

Once cooked and caramelized, add to a large mixing bowl.

In the same onion pan, toast up 2/3 cup of pecans with some salt.

Add 2 handfuls of small chopped kale to the onion bowl.

Take toasted pecans and chop'um up.

Add to onion-kale- large mixing bowl.

Once farro is tender and cooked, salt and pepper to taste and let cool.

Add to mixing bowl once cooled.

Mix together and place in the fridge until dinner.  I like a good cold side salad in the summer.

Time for dinner?  Take pork loin chops out of marinade and place reserved marinade on the stove top.

Yumo, pork.

While the pork loin chops are grilling, bring the marinade to a boil and add in 1/2 cup of dry white wine.  Let reduce into a sauce.

Great grill marks.

Plate up.  My sauce was a little thicker than I wanted, but you get the idea....I've got to work on my plating...