Pork Cutlets with Cauliflower Tabbouleh
Serves: 2
Time: 30 mins
Cauliflower and pomegranate are so easy to source at this time of year. They create a beautiful combination flavour wise but I also visually love them. If you are struggling to find pomegranate try looking first in the pre cut fruit and veg section and if you can’t find it there then have a look in the freezer section - I have found it in both Woolworths and Coles.
Leftovers
Leftovers are just the salad, but that’s a pretty tasty lunch.
What you'll need
2 pork cutlets approx 400g (try to get nice fat ones which are at least the thickness of your thumb)
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 cauliflower
1 cup of roasted hazelnuts
1/2 radicchio lettuce
1 bunch of mint
1 pomegranate
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon honey
From the pantry
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
olive oil
sea salt and pepper
Feeding Four
I have added two extra pork cutlets to the feeding four shopping list, and you can bulk the salad up with some of the remaining radicchio lettuce, plus an xtra pomegranate.
Prep and Cook
Remove Pork from Fridge
Allow to come to room temperature.
Meat at Room Temperature
It is a good habit to get into: always take your meat out of the fridge and take off the packaging first to allow your meat to come to room temperature. This gives a more accurate cooking time and reduces the possibility of having cold meat in the centre. A better safe food practice.
Prep Salad
Cut your cauliflower into large florets, then blitz in a food processor till it resembles a small crumb. (If you don’t have a food processor you can chop down by hand but it would be easier to take off a lot of the stalk).
Place cauliflower in a large mixing bowl.
Roughly chop roasted hazelnuts and add to the bowl.
Remove radicchio leaves and roughly chop. Add to the bowl.
Wash mint and pick the leaves off, roughly chop. Add to the bowl.
Make Dressing
Combine the lemon juice, oil, mustard and honey together along with some salt and pepper and mix really well. (I like to use old jars to make the dressing in).
De-seed Pomegranate
Cut your pomegranate in half.
Hold half of the pomegranate in the palm of your hand over a bowl, skin side facing up and use a solid item such as a rolling pin or a large wooden spoon to tap the outer skin.
The seeds should drop away into the bowl.
Pick out any white husk once finished.
Cook Pork
Heat a fry pan with a tablespoon of olive oil up to high heat.
Sprinkle the fennel seeds over both sides of your pork and season really well with salt and pepper.
Cook each side for 4 minutes, medium well (less if your cutlets are quite thin).
Once both sides are cooked remove the pan from the heat and turn your cutlets so that they are sitting on the bone and allow to rest like this for at least two minutes.
While your meat rests…
Plate it Pretty
Toss your salad together with some salt and pepper.
Remove some salad for tomorrow’s lunch and put some dressing aside for tomorrow’s lunch.
Mix the dressing into your salad.
Portion out onto plates, keeping the salad in a slightly crescent shape just on one side of the plates.
Sprinkle generously with the pomegranate over the salad and allow some to scatter down.
Serve cutlets beside.
Enjoy!
Lunch tomorrow
Lunch today is just the salad and you could add some chickpeas to this for some protein. Bulk up the leftovers with the rest of the lettuce.
Pop your leftover dressing in a separate small jar and dress just before you are ready to eat it.