Pick off and reserve the fennel fronds. Cut the stalks from the bulb and thinly slice the stalks cross-wise. Cut the fennel bulb in half and cut out the core and discard. Slice the bulb into thin wedges.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a wide sauté pan, heat the neutral cooking oil over medium heat until very hot. Pat the pork dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Place the pork chops in the pan and cook without moving for 5 minutes until very well-browned. Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Turn the pork chops on their sides and fry the fat caps for 45 seconds. Transfer the pork to a plate and keep the sauté pan on medium heat.

Melt the butter in the sauté pan. Once frothy, add the onions and fennel (sliced stalks and sliced bulb) and cook with for 7-8 minutes until the fennel begins to char and the onions soften.

Add the minced garlic and jalapeño and cook for 45 seconds until fragrant.

Add the cherry tomatoes and toss to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes until just softened. Add the green beans and cook another minute or two. Sprinkle all the vegetables with salt and pepper.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits stuck to the bottom. Note: If you’d like the dish to be a bit more brothy, add more chicken stock.

Add the drained beans and boil the broth for 5 minutes until reduced slightly. Season with thyme and crushed red pepper.

Place the pork chops on top of the beans and drizzle the pork with a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Transfer to the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the pork chops reach 145ºF.

Remove the pan from the oven and return to the stovetop. Transfer the pork chops to a plate to rest for 5 minutes. If you’d like to reduce the broth a bit more, turn the pan to medium-high and boil the broth for a few minutes as the pork chops rest.

Thinly slice the pork chops cross-wise. Ladle the beans and fennel-tomato broth into shallow bowls and arrange the sliced pork on top. Spoon more broth over the pork before serving. Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds. Enjoy!