Our best healthy pork recipes

Source: Web exclusive, October 2009

Honey-Braised Pork Chops with Pears, Red Onion, Feta and Almonds

Pork and fruit have a natural affinity: pork’s mild, tender meat pairs nicely with sweet, succulent produce. In this dish, the sweet ingredients (pears and honey) are balanced perfectly with tangier ingredients (feta cheese and cider vinegar), and then everything is topped off with toasted almonds.

Pork & Apple Stir Fry

Serve this lean pork and apple stir-fry with brown rice and a glass of merlot.

Lentil and Watercress Salad with Grilled Pork

The flavours of this recipe work well with almost any protein addition. While the recipe calls for watercress, it is sometimes hard to find; a great substitute is arugula, which will add a nice peppery bite.

Pork, Apple and Walnut Sliders

These mini pork burgers combine a blend of sweet and spicy flavours and nutritious walnuts. Top with your favourite condiments or a generous mound of chutney or onion jam.

Red Cabbage Stuffed Pork Loin with Bavarian Mustard Sauce

Serve this German stuffed pork loin recipe with vegetables on the side.

Grilled Pork Chops with Apple-Almond Salsa

This fresh salsa for the grilled pork chops combines fragrant rosemary, crunchy almonds, and sweet and tart apples. This dish is easy to prepare and the unusual flavour combinations make it perfect for a dinner party.

Sticky Pork Spare Ribs

In this dish, pork spare ribs are simmered first to tenderize the meat and to remove some of the fat, before being roasted in a deliciously sticky orange and mustard glaze. Choose the meatiest ribs you can find.

Pesto Pork Chops

Lean pork is now on the heart-healthy menu. To keep these pork chops healthy but succulent, top them with homemade pesto. It uses just a tiny bit of oil but seals in all the pork’s juices at the same time.

Stir-Fried Pork With Chinese Greens

Stir-fries do not have to be complicated, with numerous ingredients, as this simple recipe shows. Here strips of pork fillet are marinated then stir-fried with Chinese greens. Egg noodles make the perfect accompaniment.

Pork Medallions with Peppers

This quick sauté of pork medallions and peppers makes an excellent dinner party dish, with its well-balanced sweet and sour elements coming from balsamic vinegar, oranges and olives. It is especially good’and extra nutritious’served with broccoli.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour sauce doesn’t have to be a thick bright orange. This modern, light version of sweet and sour pork allows the succulence of the meat and the fresh flavours and different textures of a variety of vegetables and noodles to shine through.

Cidered Pork Stew with Herbed Dumplings

A spoonful of mustard peps up this simple, vegetable-rich cidered pork stew. Fluffy herb dumplings served on top help to mop up every bit of the full-flavoured sauce, and turn the pork stew into a well-balanced meal in a bowl.

Sesame Pork and Noodle Salad

With its typical Chinese flavours’ginger, soy sauce and rice vinegar’this sesame pork and noodle salad makes a delectable dish for either lunch or dinner. It is particularly nutritious as most of the vegetables are raw.

Normandy Pork with Apples, Celery and Walnuts

Fresh and fruity, this pork casserole with celery and walnuts comes from Normandy in northwestern France, where cider apples grow in profusion. A dish of rice is cooked in the oven at the same time, making this a very simple meal to prepare. Serve with green vegetables.

Pork Pot-Sticker Dumplings with Peanut Salad

These fragrant Chinese-style pasta purses are made with wonton wrappers. The pork pot stickers are part fried, then simmered in stock and served on a bed of green leaves with a spicy salad of peanuts and crunchy vegetables.

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