Pork Chops with Cilantro Pesto

Sometimes a zesty sauce is just the thing to flavor a cut of meat like pork chops that can often be a bit bland. I knew cilantro would be the base ingredient for this pesto to go with the 2 bone-in pork chops I'd gotten on sale, after that it was a little of this, a little of that...all adding up to a new concoction we couldn't get enough of!

Pesto ingredients
1 cup cilantro leaves
2 cloves garlic
2 scallions
2 tbsp toasted almonds
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup canola oil
1 hot pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
juice from 1/2 lime

Puree all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor. Pre-heat oven to 450. Spray a skillet with cooking oil and heat on stovetop, medium high. Place the chops in the skillet, cook about 2 minutes per side to begin to brown. Spread about 1 tsp of the pesto on each chop, then put in oven. Cook until done, still juicy with a hint of pink, about 10 minutes. Tent and let rest for about five minutes. Serve topped with extra pesto--we had a side of couscous, with more pesto!

Our grill is out of commission right now; otherwise that would be the way to cook this in the summer. This would go well with lamb as well.