Springy Things {Parsley Shallot Sauce}

When I started writing this post, it seemed that Spring was here.

The Redbud (my favorite Spring blooming tree and The Boy's favorite climbing tree) woke up.

Next, the Loropetalum brightened up the front of the house.

Instantly, suddenly--the Bridalwreaths (Spirea) had buds and blooms and bright green leaves.

Then a freeze and a few frosty mornings and even scraping ice off my car...Spring was not so much.

But I had that first taste.  The nibble of warm days.  That smell of freshly dug earth.  Little pokes of parsley and green onions coming up through the soil.  The idea of white citrus blossoms popping against dark green leaves (if the buds survived the freeze).  I could almost feel fuzzy tomato plant stems.

Finally, the azaleas started doing their thing.

Mine are always late bloomers.  But like any good Southerner, I love them just the same.

I'm on edge to get tomatoes in the ground, but I'll wait for the pecan tree to start showing signs of green.  That's what the old timers say I should do.

And I've learned to listen to the old timers.

Because they get pretty cranky when you don't.

This is a bright, fresh, crisp, Springy parsley sauce that I've adapted from an Ellie Krieger recipe.  When I make it, I always think of Spring.  Even if there's another frost in the forecast.

The sauce is made with parsley, shallots, Dijon, and lemon juice.  I use onion (today it was red onion) and Creole mustard with the parsley and lemon.  My version has a much stronger mustard flavor since Creole mustard is more potent than Dijon.

This sauce is good on many things.  Grilled steak, chicken, pork chops.  Fish.  Tossed with boiled potatoes instead of the classic potatoes with parsley and butter.  I imagine it would be good tossed with pasta too.

Because the theme for this month's Pantry Party @ The Law Student's Cook Book is "Breaded," I served the sauce over breaded, pan fried pork chops.  When I saw panko bread crumbs and an extra bottle of Creole mustard (everyone should have an extra bottle) in the pantry and a few pork chops in the freezer, I took it as the perfect excuse to make this sauce.

Pan Fried Pork Chops w/ Parsley Mustard Sauce was inspired by 

Pantry Party 

hosted by The Law Student's Cookbook.

This month's ingredient is "BREADED"

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Pan Fried Pork Chops w/ Parsley Mustard Sauce
* sauce adapted from Ellie Krieger's Parsley Shallot Sauce

For the sauce:
1 1/2 cups parsley
2 Tbsp minced onion (white or red)
3 Tbsp Creole mustard
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp water, divided
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper, to taste

Place the parsley, onion, mustard, oil, half of the water, and lemon juice in a blender or small food processor and season with salt and pepper. Puree until fairly smooth.  Use the rest of the water if needed, a little at a time, to thin the sauce.  Let the sauce sit to develop the flavors while you cook the pork chops.

For the pork chops:
4 pork chops
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c flour
1 1/2 c panko bread crumbs
oil oil (about 1/2 c, depending on the size of your pan)

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper.  Place the flour in a shallow dish.  Place the beaten egg in a another dish, and the panko in another.

Pour oil to cover the bottom of a skillet large enough to hold the pork chops and heat over medium.  While the oil heats, dredge the pork chops in flour.  Shake off the excess, then dip each pork chop in the beaten egg.  Let the excess egg drip off, then place each chop in the panko.  Press the panko into each chop on both sides.

Add the pork chops to the skillet and cook over medium.  When golden brown, flip and cook until browned on the second side and cooked through.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Serve with parsley sauce over the top of each chop.

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