I’m not a huge fan of heavy sauces, mainly because I often feel like the sauce is masking the food I’m hoping to taste.  So instead, I use flavorful accompaniments to enhance the flavor and not cover it up.

The accompaniment for this delicious seared pork cutlet is a fennel and caper salsa verde.  The combination of the briny capers, spicy shallots, bright lemon zest and just a hint of black licorice from the fennel, pop your tastebuds awake the moment it hits your tongue.

Ingredients:

½ cup fennel bulb, diced
½ cup fennel fronds, chopped
½ cup capers, chopped
¼ cup shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 lbs. boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut in 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon ground fennel seed
Salt and pepper
1 lemon, sliced and seeds removed

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

3) Cover a cutting board or work surface with plastic wrap and place each slice of pork, on the cutting board, covering with another layer of plastic wrap. Pound the pork with a flat-surfaced mallet until it is 1/2 inch in thickness. Remove the plastic and season each portion on both sides with the fennel seed, salt, and pepper.

4) Heat an additional tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-hot pan and working in batches, cook the pork until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked pork to a foil lined baking pan and place it in the oven to keep the cutlets warm while you continue cooking the remaining pork.

5) In the same pan, cook the reserved lemon slices until brown and caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes.

6) To serve, place a portion of the pork onto a plate and spoon the salsa verde on top. Serve with the caramelized lemon slices.