Fresh lima beans, simmered in apple juice laced with molasses and brown sugar, are baked with pork chops and apple slices.
Fresh lima beans, simmered in apple juice laced with molasses and brown sugar, are baked with pork chops and apple slices.
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 rib pork chops, trimmed of excess fat
1 large onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds lima beans, shelled
2 tart green apples, cored and sliced into rings
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Generously butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the pork chops and cook over medium heat until browned on both sides. Transfer the pork chops to the prepared baking dish.
2. To the oil that remains in the skillet, add the onion and garlic and stir over medium heat until the onion is limp. Blend in the apple juice, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and add the lima beans. Cover the pan and reduce the heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Pour the mixture over the pork chops and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the dish and arrange the apple slices over the lima beans. Continue baking, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes more or until the beans are tender and the pork is no longer pink when cut near the bone.