Pan-Roasted Pork Chops with Nectarines, Asparagus Vinaigrette & Beet-Celery Salad

This is the kind of meal that could easily be summer dinner party food, but it’s just as doable on a Tuesday night. The pork chops are seared golden and topped with sweet, juicy nectarines cut into bite-sized pieces. You can serve them raw, or soften them by tossing them in the pan with the pork chops. (At home I usually leave them raw because my kids aren’t into cooked fruit. For a dinner party, I’d warm them in the pan.)

The asparagus is a play on leeks vinaigrette, a quick and simple French classic. Whole leeks are boiled, drained, and marinated in a Dijon vinaigrette. I do the same thing here with asparagus - an easy side you could pair with almost anything.

The beet salad is earthy, bright, and surprisingly celery-forward (in a good way). It also works beautifully as a stand-alone recipe.

The whole meal is unfussy, full of flavor, healthy, and so colorful and happy that you can’t help but feeling joy as you eat it.

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If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I catered a dinner last weekend with a giant tiramisu in lieu of a birthday cake. I find myself running into more and more people who don’t like cake (my daughter included!), so it’s good to have a few other go-to birthday dessert ideas up your sleeve. That recipe will be up on my Substack by this weekend.

That recipe is a classic tiramisu—but I keep seeing strawberry versions, and someone DM’d me about a lemon version (with lemon juice and limoncello), so I’m considering playing around with a fruit version soon. If you’re leaning strawberry or lemon, let me know in the comments. It’s fun for me to respond to requests and see what recipes you want me to work on.

Some photos from the dinner below. I made the muhammara for the crudités with roasted almonds and added a 1/2 tsp of ground corriander—big hit. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out. Recipe is linked here.

Next week I’m going to go all in on Zucchini and give you two zucchini pasta recipes including the one pictured, and a stellar zucchini salad…. But for now lets get to these pork chops!

If you liked this one, hit the ❤️ or give it a restack — it really helps more people find my Substack (and keeps me inspired to keep writing and sharing).