Once primarily available at farmers’ markets and gourmet groceries, fennel is available in most supermarkets these days (depending on where you live it might be labeled anise). Its mild licorice flavor has a special affinity for pork and for chicken. This dish is very light and clean, with no thickeners or cream to mute the flavors.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　1/4 cup olive oil

　　4 (2-inch-thick) boneless pork chops (about 2 pounds total)

　　3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning meat

　　3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning meat

　　2 small fennel bulbs, stalks and fronds removed, thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 cups)

　　2 large shallots, thinly sliced

　　2/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

　　1/2 cup dry white wine

　　1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juices

　　1/2 lemon, zested

　　2 tablespoons drained capers

　　

Step 1

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and brown for about 4 minutes per side. Remove the pork from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and set aside.

　　

Step 2

Add the fennel, shallots, and 1/3 cup of the chopped parsley to the same skillet and cook over medium heat until the fennel is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Stir in the tomatoes, then return the pork to the pan, nestling the chops among the fennel and tomatoes so they are mostly submerged in the pan juices. Cook until the fennel is tender and the pork is done, 12 to 15 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Transfer the pork to a serving dish. To finish the sauce, add the lemon zest, the remaining 1/3 cup of chopped parsley, the capers, and 3/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Spoon over the pork chops and serve immediately.

　　Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.