Harissa rubbed grilled pork chops are a simple, spicy summer meal perfectly paired with a ripe peach and tomato salad and glass of sweet red wine.
*This post for Harissa Rubbed Grilled Pork Chops is sponsored by Sutter Home. All content and opinions are my own.
One of the most common questions I get when I tell someone what I do for a living second only to “how do you make money doing that?!” is: “where do you come up with all your recipe ideas?” Followed by something along the lines of “I can’t even figure out what to make for dinner!”
While creativity in that regard comes in waves (I definitely have my fair share of lulls), inspiration is usually pretty simple for me.
It’s a combination of the season + whatever looks the best at the grocery store/market.
In this case, local pork chops from a pig grown on a friend’s farm and butchered a few miles away paired with vine ripened tomatoes and peaches from another local farm down the road.
Sure, New York as a state is known for its apples but as a region, the Hudson Valley is probably most famed for the rise of farm to table cuisine over the last decade or two and this meal couldn’t epitomize it more perfectly if it tried.
I grew up with Sutter Home wines (mostly White Zinfandel back in the day) on my grandparent’s table for every macaroni and meatball Sunday dinner we made the hour long trip to their house for over the years.
Halfway through dinner when the bottle inevitably went empty, as the oldest grandkid, I got the coveted job of going down to the wine cellar in the basement and bringing up another bottle for the adults.
I remember thinking how I couldn’t wait to have a space like that in my house one day.
25-ish years later, here I am as an adult and although I don’t have that wine cellar (yet), I can definitely appreciate the pairing of a sweeter wine with a savory dinner.
I’ve moved away from blush wines these days but after a trip to Tuscany a few years back, I came to love sweet red wine with the right food pairing – aka: anything spicy!
I think sweet wine can tend to get ignored when it comes to the main course, primarily being considered only at dessert.
When served with a spicy dish, however, it has this beautiful ability to tone down and complement the heat at the same time making it a great option for the main course.
When I saw these absolutely gorgeous thick-cut bone-in pork chops in my haul from the butcher I knew the meat had to be the star of the show.
I wanted a simple marinade or rub that would really highlight how juicy these chops are and the flavor of the meat itself rather than mask it.
With just a few ingredients, the harissa rub brings out the best in the pork while imparting just a touch of spice and lends itself perfectly to the Sutter Home Sweet Red pairing.
With notes of sun-ripened cherries and peaches, the Sutter Home Sweet Red tones down the kick from the harissa just enough and balances the char from the grill so well.
Each sip has subtle floral notes to go along perfectly with the peach and tomato summer salad side dish.
These harissa rubbed grilled pork chops are the kind of summer meal I could eat over and over again.
Nothing’s complicated, just a few quality ingredients that highlight the season, prepared simply and a deliciously curated glass of wine to go with it.
Cheers to that!
Love this Harissa Rubbed Grilled Pork Chops with Tomato Peach Salad recipe?
Try other pork chop recipes like Spice Rubbed Pork Chops with Mango Peach Chutney, Pumpkin Tea Glazed Pork Chops and Apples, and Sticky honey soy pork chops.
A fresh grilled ham steak would also be perfect with this meal and wine pairing if you don’t have pork chops on hand.
Harissa Rubbed Grilled Pork Chops with Tomato Peach Salad
Ingredients
FOR THE PORK CHOPS
- 1.5 pounds thick cut, bone-in pork chops
- kosher salt + black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
FOR THE TOMATO PEACH SALAD
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 large, ripe peach cut into wedges
- 1 cup baby arugula
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil
- zest of 1/2 a lemon
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Instructions
FOR THE PORK CHOPS:
- Season both sides of the pork chops generously with salt and pepper.
- Mix the harissa paste, olive oil, basil and parsley together in a small bowl.
- Rub the harissa mixture all over both sides of the pork chops and set aside.
- Heat an outdoor grill to high.
- Once hot, place the pork chops on the grill. Grill for 4-5 minutes per side. Total cooking time will depend on thickness of each pork chop.
- Remove pork chops from the grill, place on a cutting board, cover with foil and let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving with the salad.
FOR THE TOMATO PEACH SALAD:
- Combine the tomatoes, peaches, arugula, basil and lemon zest in a bowl.
- Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil in a separate bowl. Pour over the tomatoes and peaches and gently toss to combine. Garnish with the toasted pine nuts and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with the grilled pork chops.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Perfect to enjoy during hot late summer over here ! Thank you and enjoy your day :-)
Another wholesome recipe? That pig from your friend’s farm wanted nothing more than to live, much like the billions of innocent animals that are bred for food. Confined, deprived of everything natural to them, violently slaughtered each year. “Humane meat” is a myth perpetuated by the AG industry.
ALL animals fight for their lives before they end up on your plate.
Eating meat, dairy and eggs is socially irresponsible, causes mass scale suffering and planet degradation. Why not choose plant based instead??
Oh look, another preachy vegan. Shocker.
Definitely going to try this recipe next time I head to the store! Thank you for sharing!
This looks amazing! Love that salad on the side!
Harissa is so good, and it’s totally perfect with pork. These chops look awesome! Firing up the grill for these.
What a gorgeous dinner! And a beautiful wine pairing! What time shall I come over? hehe
Oh man, what is it about bone in pork chops that just look so irresistible?? This looks like the perfect weekend meal.
Love the idea of combining peaches and tomatoes together…especially since I have both from my garden/trees now! :)
I LOVE Sutter Home wine!! This combo sounds like a dream dinner!