Foil Wrapped Pork Chops with Garlic & Figs

When I was a child we had an enormous fig tree in the back yard. Every year the tree would produce an abundance of fruit, much to the delight of my mother and grandmother. Personally I didn’t like them at all, although I loved Fig Newton’s. It wasn’t until I was all grown up and went to Italy that I found figs to be delicious, especially when served with a cool Vin Santo along with cheese and nuts.

I came across this recipe in the San Francisco Chronicle one day and decided to try it out. Oh my! It was delicious.


Foil Wrapped Pork Chops with Whole Garlic & Figs

2 teaspoons sea or kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
16 figs, stems trimmed
Four 1-inch thick center-cut pork rib chops with bones (about 2 lbs. total)
20 cloves fresh, firm garlic (peeled)
4 sprigs sage

Preheat oven to 350

In a bowl combine salt, pepper, sage and thyme then mix well. Lay out 4 sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil about 12 inches by 16 inches. Put the olive oil in a bowl then add the figs and turn well to coat. Lay a chop in the center of each piece of foil and season them equally with half the herb mix. Put 4 figs on top of each chop and season them with the remaining half of the herb mix. Tuck five cloves of garlic beneath or around the figs to make a snug bundle, garnish with a sage sprig, then fold the foil corner to corner to make a tight seal. Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake until the port is opaque the just faintly pink in the center, about 55 minutes to 1 hours. Serve the packets on dinner plates letting each diner open their packet.

Serves 4
400 Calories per serving