Pork and Pepper Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is another South Beach recipe and it is totally delicious and very easy if you have left-over pork loin.

What’s fun about this salad is that it is served on a bed of wilted red cabbage, red onion and celery so much more like a meal than a salad.

And even you don’t have left-overs, it is still easy and very satisfying for a complete meal. I happened to have a pork loin that I made the day before so it was super easy to put this meal together.

I roasted the loin covered in olive oil, soy sauce, a little salt (both soy and miso are salty so didn’t need too much), freshly ground black pepper, a good thick coating of miso and then fresh roasted unsalted pistachio nuts. Get a heavy bottomed skillet (cast iron is my favorite) hot and add the pistachios. Shake the pan and be careful not to burn the nuts. It only takes about 5 minutes to roast them and really brings out the flavor. When cool, grind the nuts. The pistachio pork was very yummy and made putting this Pork and Pepper Salad together very easy.

If you don’t have left over pork loin or tenderloin, slice off four 3/4 inch pieces from the pork, cover with olive oil, salt and pepper and place under a preheated broiler for about 10 minutes, turning over after 5 minutes. Pork should be about 140 degrees. USDA recommends 145, but it keeps cooking and no one likes tough, dry pork! Trichinosis has not been around since the 1950’s.

So few ingredients in this salad, but truly delicious and satisfying. South Beach suggests adding a green pepper, too, but I only had red and yellow.

BACK TO THE SALAD…

To roast the peppers, place on an oiled piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet, in a preheated broiler and roast until the skin is totally black. Keep rotating to ensure that all sides are blackened. Once blackened, wrap the foil around the peppers and let cool. The skin will easily rub off and remove seeds and ribs from the peppers. Cut into thick slices.

Warm a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy bottomed skillet and add the red onion, red cabbage, celery, salt and pepper. I also included a clove of garlic, finely diced, which the original South Beach recipe did not. Cook, stirring frequently until tender; about 10 minutes.

Divide the cabbage mixture among 4 plates (or in my case 2 plates with left-overs!). Arrange the peppers and pork on top. I also added the celery leaves as garnish and a good amount of fresh basil. Drizzle each with dressing and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of shredded mozzarella cheese.

And here is the salad minus the mozzarella cheese.

Drizzle with pan juices and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.

I LOVE pleasing my husband, Jerry with food!

So simple and very satisfying. The month is coming to an end, but we will not stop eating South Beach diet recipes. They are good, nutritious and hopefully help to keep our weight at bay.

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5 from 1 vote

Pork and Pepper Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This salad makes a meal and is totally satisfying and delcious.

Ingredients

• 1 Red Bell Pepper, roasted
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, roasted
• 1 Yellow Bell Pepper, roasted
• 1/2 lb. Pork Loin (or tender loin), to make 4 thick slices
• 2 Tbsp. Olive oil, one for the pork and one for the veg saute
• 1 medium Red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cups Red (or green) cabbage, thinly sliced
• 3 Celery ribs, leaves reserved for garnish
• 1 Clove garlic, diced
• Fresh basil, optional garnish

Instructions

• Preheat the broiler and place the bell peppers on a broiler pan lined with foil and cook, turning occasionally until the skin is blistered and black all over. Remove from the broiler and wrap the foil around the peppers until cool enough to handle. Halve, remove the skin, ribs and seeds and cut into strips. Let the juices run into the pan as it will enhance the vinaigrette.
• If not using left-over pork, place the pork slices covered with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper under the broiler and cook for about 10 minutes, turning over the slices half way through. Pork should read 140 degrees.
• Warm a heavy bottomed skillet with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and add the red onion, cabbage, celery, garlic, salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for 10 minutes or until all is tender.
• Divide the cabbage mixture among 4 plates. Arrange the peppers and pork on top. Drizzle each with balsamic vinegar and pan juices and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp, of mozzarella cheese. I also added celery leaves and a ton of fresh basil as garnish.