CARAMELISED PORK with APPLES & SWEET POTATO MASH

Another simple yet tasty recipe from Michelle Bridges’ body transformation program. Pork is not something I usually eat, unless it is Christmas time. However, ‘it is a very lean protein’, as my fiancée Chris and Michelle Bridges inform me. So I stepped out of my comfort zone to make this dish. The teaspoon of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) is all you require for a light caramelisation of the pork and apples. I adapted this recipe to include a smaller amount of apple and a greater amount of green beans, as vegetables really fill me up at meals. I also added the spices, as they are zero calories and needed to lift the plain sweet potato mash. This meal was very filling for only 471 calories. Unfortunately there is no vegetarian equivalent to this dish, however stay tuned for tomorrow’s meal: Beetroot Risotto.

Ingredients

• 350g sweet potato, peeled & cut into small even pieces
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 heaped teaspoon kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 450g free range lean pork fillet, fat removed 
• 1 teaspoon rice bran oil
• 1 red apple (150g), cored and cut into 8 even sized wedges
• 200g green beans, trimmed 

Cooking 

1. Bring a small to medium saucepan of water to the boil over high heat. When water has boiled add the sweet potato pieces and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat, drain and mash the potato well with the ground coriander & cumin. 

2. Meanwhile, brush kecap manis over the fillets. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the pork and cook for 4 minutes each side or until just cooked through (you can check this by cutting the biggest fillet in half and checking that no pink flesh is visible). Remove from the heat and cover the fillets in al foil to stay warm. 

3. Place the apple wedges in the previous pork frying pan and cook over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes per side, then remove from heat. 

4. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil (or place the beans in with the sweet potato in step 1 at the 7-8 minute of boiling) and add the green beans. Cook for 2 minutes or until bright green and just tender. Remove from heat and drain. 

5. Divide the sweet potato mash, pork, apple wedges and beans between two plates and serve warm. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes  

Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

Calories / 471 per serve 

x Emily