September 22, 2016
This week I was looking for something really different and delicious to cook for my weeknight meals. I also felt the need to get some meat back into my blog posts, because I know it has been lacking in the past couple of weeks! Never fear, we are back on board with my omnivore ways, because I was really craving something a little heartier this week, and came up with just the recipe that I thought it would be worth sharing!
I think when I went to the store I sort of knew what I was craving, because I subconsciously picked up some mushrooms, which I haven’t cooked with for a while, and when I got home realised that I still had some kale in the fridge that was starting to look a bit sad. The great thing about kale is that it lasts for so long, but when it does go a bit wilted, it can easily be used in cooking to really extend its life. So rather than wasting it, I felt that it would go really well with a mushroom dish using some pork that I managed to get on sale.
I don’t often cook with pork, as a lot of you would know, and so when I do I am always experimenting with new recipes. Surprisingly, for something that doesn’t really seem like it would be, pork is really quite versatile. I’ve realised that it really lends itself to the type of cooking a love to do with chicken, and so I am becoming more and more comfortable with using it instead of what seems to have become my favourite meat to cook with (I really do need to branch out more, maybe next time I’ll cook some steak).
I love a good tomatoey, skillet meal. Call me obsessed with Italian food, but I love how delicious a beautiful tomato sauce can be when you cook it down with some delicious vegetables. What can I say? If only my love for Italian food gave me that beautiful Italian tan, because I am actually obsessed, and any chance I get to pump my food full of Italian flavours, I take it! The best thing about it as well is that they are usually quite easy to cook. You just add a whole heap of ingredients into one fry pan, and then it’s a matter of letting it simmer to seal in the flavours.
This recipe was really delicious and perfect for a weeknight meal. The sauce itself really amped up the flavour of the pork and made cooking with it a little more versatile and interesting. It also ensured that the pork stayed moist and perfectly cooked. I felt like this was a different way to cook pork that I’ve never really tried, so it was nice to know that giving something else a go really paid off! Turns out I can go off book completely when it comes to Italian flavours and still cook something delicious, we may make a cook of me yet!
- 300 grams of pork steaks
- 3 teaspoons of dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
- 1 brown onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 100 grams of mushrooms sliced
- Half a bunch of kale leaves stripped from stems
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
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In a small bowl, combine 2 teaspoons of the dried thyme, chilli flakes, oregano and salt and pepper. Add the pork steaks and rub the spice mix into them, ensuring each piece is covered evenly by the spices.
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In a frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon of the coconut oil over a high heat. Add the pork steaks and sear on both sides until brown, about 4 minutes each side. Remove from the pan and transfer to a plate.
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Reduce the heat in the fry pan to medium, and heat the remaining coconut oil until melted. Add the onion, mushroom, garlic and remaining dried thyme and cook until onion is translucent and the mushrooms are cooked through, about 5 minutes.
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Add the tomatoes and kale to the pan, and stir to combine. Simmer the mixture for about 4 minutes, until the tomato has reduced down. Add the pork steaks back to the pan and cover with tomato, cooking for an additional 5 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through.
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Serve immediately, ensuring each steak is covered with a generous portion of the tomato sauce. This goes well with a salad, mashed potato or pasta.
This dish was perfect for a weeknight meal. It was really easy to prepare and relatively quick to cook. If you were feeling impatient you could leave the tomato for less time, however I highly recommend cooking it down to really get the flavours out of the tomato. Italian cooking is all about letting flavours develop, and so if you don’t give the tomato sauce time to really cook down, it won’t be as beautiful as it could be. And what is a couple of extra minutes really?
I served this with a simple salad for a healthy meal, but because there is so much tomato sauce you could easily cut up the pork into strips and serve it with some pasta, polenta or mashed potato. The options really are endless! I feel like the tomato sauce really went beautifully with the pork and made it a really lovely Moorish dish that was actually quite healthy! It goes to show that you don’t need anything too complicated to make something tasty, you just need simple ingredients to create good food!
You could easily make the same dish with chicken, if that was what you had on hand, or even just cook the sauce and serve it with pasta. If you don’t have mushrooms or kale as well you could easily add whatever you have in the fridge to the dish, or even just stick with the tomato sauce. It is really up to you, and I think that’s the beauty of a simple, weeknight recipe. You don’t want to have to go to the store for specific ingredients, sometimes you just want to use what is on hand.
I feel like it’s a new thing for me putting up three savory recipes in a row, who am I anymore? Next week I think I’ll need to post something sweet to balance it out!
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
