Sweet and Savory..this Grilled Pork Salad is loaded with fruit, coconut rice, and a little kick! A perfect, light and gorgeous Summer dinner!
Have you seen any good movies lately? I feel like this year is really lacking in the movie department. I don’t think there has been any major Summer blockbusters. We haven’t seen anything worth writing home about. The few good ones we have seen, Divergent, Transcendence, were both Spring movies, and there hasn’t been a whole lot since. We love to watch movies! Any suggestions?
Speaking of movies, if you live on this planet then you know the 50 Shades of Gray trailer was released last week, and maybe you’ve even watched it about 25 times? Or maybe that’s JUST me. But, I hate it! I love, love, looooove the books. It’s also one of my favorite genres. I know that when books are converted into movies, there is typically a little let down, because I don’t think they ever do as good as our imaginations conjure up. BUT this movie, I mean, I’m sure it was hard to get male actors for such a racy role, along with the fact that they’d be pigeonholed as Christian Grey forever, but umm…hi, Jamie Dornan has a baby face. And he is not big and buff with piercing grey eyes, and abs that my fingers would ripple over. <–books description, not mine! 😉
Maybe I shouldn’t be talking about this on a food blog, but I just can’t get over the casting.
PLUS did you see the Today show interview with them? Terrible. Those two have absolutely zero chemistry. And I know Anastasia is supposed to be ordinary looking, but ugh, just the casting is awful. This little gem right here is my idea of a Mr. Grey.
Regardless, they don’t care, they’ll make their money because we’ll all go see it. I have a feeling there are going to be A LOT of unhappy men on Valentines day next year! 😉
Let’s talk about this Grilled Pork Salad, because that’s what you’re really here for right? Not me yapping about hot men!
I looooove this meal. Every single bite is so flavorful, and juicy, and sweet, and salty. It’s like this; a kickin’ dry rubbed grilled pork on a bed of grilled romaine, topped with a fruit salsa loaded with mango’s, pineapple, apricots, tomatoes, red bell pepper, and all the good stuff in between. Then served alongside soft and fluffy coconut rice.
It’s kind of tropical-like, but not totally. But it’s SO good. And light, and summery..and just please make this! Oh & p.s, mojitos are GREAT with it! 😉
Sweet and Savory..this Grilled Pork Salad is loaded with fruit, coconut rice, and a little kick! A perfect, light and gorgeous Summer dinner!
Ingredients
- 2 mangos, cubed
- 2 apricots, cubed
- 1 cup cubed pineapple
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 tomato, cubed
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice (I just used the juice from the can of pineapple chunks!)
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 14 ounce can light coconut milk, shaken well (I use Trader Joe's brand)
- 3/4 cup coconut water
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 cup coconut flakes
- salt and pepper
- 3-3 1/2 pounds pork shoulder
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1-2 heads of Romaine Lettuce
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Directions
- In a large bowl combine all the ingredients for the fruit salsa and toss together. Set aside, tossing occasionally until everything else is ready.
- To make the rice, heat a medium sized pan over medium-high heat and add the rice, coconut milk, and coconut water. Bring to a boil, give one last stir so it's not sticking to the bottom, reduce heat to low, and cover until cooked. Usually about 40 minutes.
- When the rice is cooked, fluff with a fork, stir in the coconut oil, flakes, and salt and pepper. Cover until ready to serve.
- Meanwhile, baste the pork with the olive oil.
- In a small bowl, combine the cumin, chili powder, oregano, smoked paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir together and rub evenly over all the pork.
- Preheat grill to high heat. You want to sear each side to get them cooking. So put the pork on the grill, close the lid and cook for 1 minute. Open the lid, flip, and cook for one more minute.
- Now lower the heat to medium. Close the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes, before flipping and cooking for another 4-5 minutes.
- Turn down the heat to low and cook until the internal temperature reads 145°.
- Remove from the grill, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- While the pork is resting, grill up your romaine. Cut about 1-2 inches off the top of each heart, and drizzle with olive oil.
- Turn the heat back up to medium-high and place the lettuce across the grates, turning every 1-2 minutes until it is lightly brown on all sides.
- To assemble, Serve each plate with 2-3 romaine leaves, top with sliced pork and a scoop of the fruit salsa. Serve alongside the coconut rice. Enjoy!