Tonight's Dinner: Lavender Pork Chops

I've always considered lavender that pretty purple plant that adds a wonderful scent to sachets, bubble bath or body lotion. I have never ever thought of it as an ingredient for cooking. But over the past few months, I've started to see lavender being used in everything from appetizers to desserts. So, as I witnessed more and more recipes using the beautiful purple flower, I thought I'd buy some culinary lavender and try cooking with it. The result was out of this world. While subtle, the flavor adds a complexity to the dish that just screams spring.

The only problem I had with the lavender was finding it. Since it's not a common herb, you're not going to find it at your local supermarket. Even Whole Foods didn't carry it. I finally found some at Penzey's Spices, though. While they have shops all over the place, they're not as common as Whole Foods or Bristol Farms. But if you can't find one near you, they're online shop is just as bountiful.

So if you're dying to try something new, add a little lavender to your entree. Your family and friends will love the flavor, and wonder what that secret ingredient is. It's up to you if you want to share.

Lavender-Glazed Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup apricot jam
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons lavender buds, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• dash of salt
• 4 bone-in pork chops

Directions

1. Preheat broiler and line pan with tin foil.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together jam, mustard, lavender, thyme, garlic and salt.
3. Trim fat from pork chops. Using a basting brush, baste jam mixture over all sides of each chop. Transfer basted chops to broiler pan and broil until cooked through, about five minutes per side. Serve immediately.

>>More Tonight's Dinner Recipes

Other Lavender Recipes from SheKnows

Lavender daisy

Lavender simple syrup

Lavender tea bread