These Parmesan Stuffed Pork Chops will become a favourite at your house. Who doesn’t love sauce and cheese??? The parmigiana method of cooking is popular because it is comforting in every way. It is everything we love as Italians in one bite. Traditionally parmigiana uses chicken. Some of my favourites re the vegetable parmigiana recipes. Food experts note that it is a staple of the regions of Campania and Sicily. The first recipe appeared in the “New York Times”in 1962. The recipe became popular all over the world and is a family favourite.
However when visiting Italy the most common parmigiana consists of eggplants. They have stayed true to the roots. Meat was not available to farmers at home in Italy. Most used vegetables. Upon immigrating, they realized how easy it was to get meat and it became a status symbol. They were also overjoyed that they could now afford more protein. This is how I came to experiment with pork chops in a parmigiana recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
My nonna made a lot of veal and chicken parmigiana, but our favourite was always the eggplant one. When visiting Italy, I will often have eggplant parmigiana as a main with some good bread and of course a very good bottle of wine.
Don’t forget to check out my healthy version of eggplant parmigiana on the bloghttps://recipesatmytable.com/the-best-grilled-eggplant-parmigiana/
Ingredients
- Thick cut pork chops( this recipe is for two, but you can multiply it to suit your needs)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning divided
- fresh basil
- 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.
- 8 small cubes of mozzarella
- 1/2 cup grated mozzarella
- 2 tbsp of live oil
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- salt and pepper
Process
Take some fresh thick pork chops and lie them on their side. Use a small paring knife to cut a slit in them. Ensure that you do not go through the other side.
Set up your stations with flour, egg and bread crumbs. I used half the italian seasoning in the flour and half in the bread crumbs. Add your parmesan cheese into the bread crumbs. Slice 8 small cubes of mozzarella. and get some large leaves of fresh basil.
Place one basil leaf and 4 cubes into each slit and push everything as far back as you can so that the pork chop closes again.
Now it is time to go to the dunking station. First the chop goes into the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs. Set aside.
Place the olive oil into a large pan over medium/high heat and put in the chops. Cook until golden brown and salt and pepper each side .
Line your baking dish with 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce and then pour the other half over the top. I poured the little bit of olive oil from the pan over the sauce. Place in a 400F oven for 40minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes to melt the mozzarella.
They were juicy, moist and delicious. Serve with a side of pasta or salad.
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