Pork chops should be your kitchen secret. Serving them for a weeknight dinner looks very impressive, but they take about 15 minutes to make. That’s it.

I won’t tell if you won’t, okay?

To complete the pork chops, I made a quick pan sauce with white wine, but you could easily use chicken broth instead, if that’s not your thing.  You could probably stop right there and serve this with some frozen veg or a salad, and the people around you would call you a queen.

But, if I can, I’d like to recommend making the easiest sweet potato and cannellini sautée. It is so good, I was sneaking leftover bites out of the pan as I was “doing the dishes” – dipping each bite in the remnants of the sauce. Very glamorous things happen in my kitchen.

Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes and White Beans
Serves 2 1/2

Ingredients:
2 bone-in pork chops
3 garlic cloves
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 c. minced shallots, divided
2 c. sweet potatoes, cubed
1, 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Fresh thyme (1 tsp. thyme, plus one sprig)
1 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. white wine or chicken broth
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
Salt
Freshly cracked pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Begin by making the side dish. Heat 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp. shallots and sautee for 3 minutes or until translucent. When cooked through, add the sweet potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

In a separate, oven safe pan, heat the remaining 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil to begin making the main course. Season the pork chops on both sides. Add them to the pan when the oil is hot, along with the three garlic cloves. Brown on each side (about 3 minutes per side).

While the pork chops are browning, uncover the sweet potatoes and add the beans, along with 1 c. vegetable broth. Place a sprig of thyme in the pan. Then, put the lid back on and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

When the pork chops are golden on both sides, put them in the oven. Cook for 10 minutes. Then, remove them from the pan, set them aside and cover them with foil.

Check on your beans and sweet potatoes. When the sweet potatoes are cooked through, season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

To make the pan sauce, heat the pan the pork chops were in over medium low heat. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. of finely minced shallots to it. Cook until translucent. Add 1/2 c. wine or chicken broth to the pan. Let it bubble up and reduce a bit. Whisk in the mustard to thicken the sauce. Then, off the heat, add in the butter and 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme.

To serve, add some of the bean mixture to each plate. Top it with a pork chop and then, drizzle the sauce on top.