Pork Cutlets with Smothered Parmesan Green Beans
Submitted by happyzhangbo
Pork cutlets with smothered parmesan green beans pairs fast-seared pork with frenched green beans braised slow in shallots, white wine, cream, and sage. A one-skillet dinner.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
12 minCOOK
30 minREADY
50 minPork cutlets with smothered parmesan green beans is an old-school American Sunday supper done clever. The beans do the slow work while the pork cutlets do the fast work, and everything comes together in a single skillet at the end.
Shallots, garlic, and sage start in butter and oil, then get hit with a reduction of white wine, cream, and a splash of water. Frenched green beans, still frozen, go in straight from the bag and smother under a tight lid for about 25 minutes until they turn tender, savory, and a little jammy. They lose their bright snap but gain the kind of deep, buttery flavor only long cooking delivers.
The pork gets seared fast in the wiped-out same skillet, and both the beans AND the meat juices get reunited in the pan with a quick splash of water to lift the fond. Parmesan stirred in at the end carries everything together.
Chef Tips
- Do not thaw the green beans. Frozen beans release controlled moisture into the braise, which is how the smother works. Thawed beans dump water upfront and dilute the sauce.
- Pat the pork completely dry before searing. Surface moisture steams the meat and you lose the browned crust the pan sauce depends on.
- Pour off the pork oil before deglazing. It is spent and burnt; the water step lifts the good fond and leaves the bad fat behind.
- Add the parmesan off the heat. Boiled parmesan clumps; melted parmesan clings.
Variations
- Swap pork cutlets for chicken cutlets or boneless chicken thighs pounded thin.
- Use fresh green beans blanched first for a brighter, greener version with a shorter braise.
- Stir a spoon of Dijon mustard into the cream sauce for a tangy edge.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides.
Cook shallots and garlic with ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 5 minutes.
Add wine and boil until reduced by half.
Add cream, ½ cup water, sage, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper and bring just to a boil.
Add green beans and simmer, tightly covered, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and liquid is slightly thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and keep warm, covered.
Clean skillet, then heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
Pat pork dry and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, then cook, turning once, until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total.
Transfer pork to a plate. Pour off oil in skillet.
Return skillet to medium-high heat and add remaining tablespoon water, stirring and scraping up brown bits.
Stir in bean mixture and meat juices from plate and heat over medium heat.
Stir in parmesan.
Serve pork over green beans.
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