- 4 meaty pork chops
- 2 cups dried split peas
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon fat for browning
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon salt (additional)
- pinch of pepper (additional)
Soak peas for about 4 hours in water barely covering, then boil for 20 minutes in the same water. Drain and reserve water. Rub chops with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and /8 teaspoon pepper, and brown in the fat melted in frying pan.
In the bottom of a deep baking dish which has a lid, place a layer of 1/2 the split peas. Lay chops on the peas, sprinkle with the chopped onion, then add a layer of the rest of the peas. Mix honey with 1 cup of the water in which peas were cooked, add the 1 teaspoon of salt and pinch of pepper. Pour liquid over chops and peas. Cover and bake in 350 oven until all is tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. More water should be added if mixture appears dry during baking. Will serve 4.
A simple syrup made from boiling 2 parts sugar to 1 part water may be used instead of honey.