What to do with a couple of thinly cut boneless pork chops? Make a roulade! Sounds fancy, but it's really pretty simple.
A stuffing was made with a sauté of finely chopped carrot, celery, mushrooms, onion, and fennel, a few pieces of not-quite-stale wheat bread torn into chunks, and a few spoonfuls of stock. The meat got pounded to an even thinner state with my trusty mallet, the surface covered with chilled stuffing, and the whole thing was rolled up and secured with toothpicks. They were then seared in a non-stick skillet with a bit of olive oil.
After about 10 minutes of cooking on medium-high heat, turning them a few times to make sure they were done all the way through, I added a glaze made from 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and a heaping teaspoon of sambal oelek. As the sauce bubbled and thickened, I mounted it with a tablespoon of butter.
The salad on the side is simply thinly sliced raw fennel, Granny Smith apple, the juice of one lemon, salt, a bit of sugar, and a sprinkle of fennel seeds.
I always worry about the end result when I get experimental like this, but I'm happy to say that all of the flavors and textures worked well together. The stuffing was rich, the sauce was sweet but not too, and the tang and crunch of the salad was a nice counterpoint.
