Pork With Roasted Vegetables and Quinoa

This is a recipe adapted from Weight Watchers magazine. I have cooked this many times and I find it has an interesting taste.

When I was on holiday back in Malaysia, I offered to cook a few meals so as not to make myself ‘of not much use’. I offered to cook and instead of cooking some Malaysian food, I decided to cook this instead as it is different. Well, my sister-in-law seems to like it, but my sister was not too keen. I suppose it is an acquired taste. The middle eastern flavour comes from the coriander seeds which gives the vegetables a kick when one bites on it.

This is a healthy recipe provided you do not add too much oil. Normally I would use a calorie-controlled spray, but as I was not cooking in my kitchen, I improvised. Instead of using a spray, I dapped my hands the oil and rub in between my hands and gently masage the vegetables! This will give the vegetables a light coating of oil.

The original recipe calls for slices of lean pork to be grilled or griddled over a pan. I decided to cut the pork into thin strips instead and the meat was much tender.

Here is the recipe

Quick info:

Time: about 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
£: ££
Serves: 4 to 6

About 26 pro points per recipe

Ingredients:

1 small Butternut squash or pumpkin – remove skin and seeds and cut to 2cm cubes
1 small Courgette – cubed as above
1 Red pepper – cubed as above
1 Yellow pepper – cubed as above
2 medium Red onions – skinned and cut into eights with the roots on
1 pack Cherry tomatoes on the vine
1 tsp Coriander seeds
1 bunch Fresh coriander leaves – chopped
1 cube Chicken stock
150g Quinoa
1 Orange – grate halve the orange peel and squeeze the juice
500g Lean pork ( tender cuts) – thinly sliced
Salt and pepper

Method:

Prepare the quinoa according to the packet. Crumble the chicken stock in the water. When the quinoa is cooked, turn off the fire and leave it to stand.
Cut the vegetables into cubes, except the fresh coriander leaves and tomatoes. Spray one or two baking trays with calorie controlled oil spray. Place the vegetables in a single layer and spray with some oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about 20 minutes Gas Mk 5.
Remove from the oven and add in the cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle the coriander seeds on the vegetables and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes. Remove when done and set aside.
In the meantime, season the pork with salt and pepper and the grated orange peel. Set aside for about 20 minutes or more.
On a non-stick pan or grill, spray with some oil and cook pork in one layer until lightly browned. Turn over and cook the other side till lightly brown. Remove and set aside.