Roasted Pork Chops with Parsnip and Apples

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
2. Peel and chop your parsnips into approximately 1/2-inch pieces. If you parsnips are large (as mine were), remove the woody inner core. I find this easiest to do as follows: cut the thinner portion off the tip (and chop that up–any core there is negligible), and cut off the stem end, leaving a squat thick “trunk.” Stand it on its larger flat end, slice it lengthwise into four long quarters, then slice out the triangle of core and discard. (If you don’t mind the core you can skip this). Chop.
3. Core and thinly slice your apples, and slice your onion.
4. Mix together in a baking pan, add the thyme and zest, drizzle the olive oil, and mix with your hands until well coated. Arrange the pork chops or ribs on top of the parsnip-apple mixture, and sprinkle salt and pepper on the meat.
5. Roast for 30 minutes or so (depending on the thickness of your cut of pork), stirring the vegetables occasionally. Remove from the oven, rest 5 minutes, and serve. (What I think may be new) USDA guidelines recommend roasting until an internal temperature of 145F has been reached, and then resting.