Recipe - Pork Chops and Butterbeans

Serves 4

This is variation on pork and beans that can be served at a dinner party. However, it is "slow food", meaning it takes a bit of prep time and cooking time. It also is a great recipe to do when you have some left over ham from easter.

This is falls into the class of comfort foods as the pork chops is very tender and doesn't require a knife to eat, and the butter beans just make you feel oh so happy.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound of dry butter beans (lima beans)
1 cut of chopped ham (I prefer honey baked ham that i run through the food processor for a few pulses. I like the ham to be pea sized pieces)
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/4 cup of ketchup
1 tablespoon of butter
1 small onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
4 pork chops (I prefer boneless loin, that are cut about an inch thick)
salt and pepper
Cilantro or Parsley or Green Onions for Garnish

Equipment:
1. A large oven safe cast iron pot or skillet with a lid that can fit four pork chops and butter beans around it.
2. A separate pot to cook the beans in.

The Night Before:
1. The night before, soak the butter beans in a bowl, making sure to have the water covering the dry beans a good 1-2 inches.

Instructions:
1. Put the soaked beans and the water they have been soaking in large pot.
2. Put in the tablespoon of butter
3. Cook the butter beans over medium heat for about an hour and a half uncovered. Make sure that the mixture very lightly simmers but does not rapidly boil.
4. During this process, the liquid that you are cooking the butter beans in will slightly thicken and should become a soupy consistenty, bare in mind that you don't want to drain out any liquid as all of this will be used in a later step, so add water if the pot starts drying out, but don't put too much as to weaken the stock
5. Once the butter beans are cooked, turn off the stove and set aside.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
7. In the large skillet/pot with the lid, sautee the onions and olive oil over med/high heat.
8. Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper
9. Put the pork chops in the large skillet and sear both sides of the pork chops. About 30 seconds to a minute on each side.
10. Add the chopped ham and sautee the chopped ham (by pushing them around the pork chops for about a minute.
11. Turn off the burner so that the pork chops stop cooking. The pork chops should still be raw in the middle (just the two sides seared a little.
12. Drizzle the tomato paste into the skillet over the pork chops, and then add the ketchup. I use the squeeze top ketchup bottle and make a hashed pattern on top of the pork chop mixture.
13. Pour the butter bean mixture (with the liquid) over the pork chops.
14. Cover the skillet and pot and bake for another hour and a half.

To serve plop a pork chop in the center of a large dish, cover with the butter bean concoction, and garnish with your favorite garnish. Yum Yum!