AIP sheet-pan dinner with bone-in pork chops, delicata squash, and broccoli seasoned with thyme

Some nights the most helpful thing a recipe can do is ask almost nothing of you. 4 ingredients and one sheet pan, and the oven handles the cooking on its own while you go do something else for 25 minutes. On a week when the protocol itself is taking up most of your mental space, that counts for a lot.

Zinc shows up in bone-in pork in a meaningful amount, and it plays a real part in immune regulation and in keeping the gut's barrier intact, both places that take the brunt of an Autoimmune process. The beta-carotene in roasted delicata squash is where this meal's vitamin A comes from, once the body converts it, a nutrient involved in maintaining the same mucosal surfaces.

If you can find a pastured pork chop, choose it. An animal raised with room to move and food that suited it becomes meat with more to give, and it is worth pausing on that for a moment before the pan goes into the oven. Let the squash and broccoli catch a little color at the edges rather than pulling them early. It looks better on the plate, and a plate you took a little care with changes something about how the meal lands.

Ingredients

• 2 thick-cut bone-in pork chops (about 1 pound total weight)
• 1 delicata squash
• 1 broccoli crown
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Prepare the delicata squash: halve it lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy interior. Cut each half into half-moons about 1/2 inch thick. The skin of delicata squash is thin and tender after roasting - no peeling needed.

Cut the broccoli into florets of similar size so they cook evenly.

Pat the pork chops thoroughly dry with a clean towel. Dry surfaces brown; wet surfaces steam. Arrange the chops on the lined pan with space around them for heat to circulate. Scatter the squash and broccoli around the pork.

Season everything with salt and the dried thyme.

Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 F and the vegetables have caramelized edges. If the broccoli is getting too dark before the pork is done, move it toward the center of the pan or pull it out early and keep it warm.

Let the pork chops rest for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute through the meat.

Air fryer variation

Both the pork chops and the vegetables work well in an air fryer. You will likely need to cook them separately unless your machine has a large capacity.

Preheat the air fryer to 400 F. Season the pork chops and place them in the basket. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the internal temperature reaches 145 F. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For the vegetables: toss the delicata squash and broccoli florets with a small amount of avocado oil and salt. Cook in the air fryer at 400 F for 10 to 12 minutes, shaking the basket once, until the squash is tender and the broccoli has slightly crisped edges.

*Adapted from gutsybynature.com (Jaime Hartman)*