By Ken Valenti

WESTPORT–With chillier weather coming, maybe you want to lean less on salads and more on heftier fare. With that thinking in mind, I tried the pork chop ala scarpariello at the Spotted Horse Tavern, 26 Church St.

That’s a pork chop – a fairly thick one – sitting on a bed of sausage, potatoes, spinach and cherry peppers. 

I could have gone light. It was so warm that I sat outside on the restaurant’s patio, instead of in the comfortably dark interior. Definitely a nice enough day for something not-too-heavy.

I could have ordered the Tommy’s Vegetable Spasta, which is mainly spaghetti squash with some vegetables. But no. I went the other way. Completely the other way.

Not the sweet corn blackened chicken tacos or the ahi tuna bowl. Not the parmesan crusted sole.

I went for the slab of pork on top of sausage, sauce and so on.

The pork chop could have stood on its own. Perfectly cooked, mildly seasoned, it was the star of the meal. But it also blended well with its supporting characters, the sausage, potatoes, spinach and peppers. The vinegary brown sauce asserted itself with that unmistakable cherry pepper tang.

If you’ve seen a similar entrée in an Italian place, it was probably chicken scarpariello. That sounds like something from Italy, but several blogs and food writers say it seems to be an Italian-American creation, as Italian as chop suey is Chinese. 

The name ala scarpariello is Italian for “shoemaker style,” and some speculate that it signifies a dish you can whip up – I’m trying hard not to say “cobble together” – with inexpensive, readily available ingredients.

Regardless of the history, in a traditional chicken scarpariello, the fowl and the sausage come together to create a dinner that’s filling but not especially heavy.

Try the Spotted Horse’s variation when that’s just not hefty enough.

Ken Valenti

^{_{A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.}}