Local Food and Seasonal Ingredients

Pork and Spinach Salad with Fresh Blueberries and Grilled Pineapple

The pineapple is one of those perfect ingredients (alongside avocados and mangos.)  So why mess with perfection?  I would say it is more about taking a different approach to something you are familiar with than a detraction.  The heat concentrates and enhances the natural sweetness of the fruit and the caramelization on the outside is just delicious.

I originally put this together for my paleo friends.  Aside from that, I wanted to play around with temperature and texture.  The raw and cooked ingredients play well off each other.  This is also a really simple salad and you can put it together in about 20 minutes.

Serving size: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb pork chops – 4 boneless pieces
9 oz bag baby spinach
1 fresh pineapple – Cored and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 quart fresh blueberries
1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a saute pan over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add pork pieces (salted and pepper to taste) and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through.  You can also grill pork over medium heat if you have a bbq (which is perfect for the summer months)

While pork is cooking, heat a separate grill pan (our outdoor grill) over medium heat and add pineapple pieces.  Cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until starting to get a little golden brown.  Remove and set aside.

After pork is cooked allow to rest for 3-5 minutes and then cut into 1/2 inch strips.

To serve:
On individual plates add a mound of baby spinach (washed and dried).  Place pieces of one full pork chop on spinach and add 3-5 pieces of pineapple.  Add a small handful of blueberries.  Squeeze lemon over dish and drizzle a little olive oil.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

Pork and Spinach Salad with Fresh Blueberries and Grilled Pineapples

Pork and Spinach Salad with Fresh Blueberries and Grilled Pineapple

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.