Pork with cucumber & apricot couscous
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- More effort
- Serves 4
Ingredients
- 30g fresh coriander
- 4 small garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 400g pork fillet
- 1½ tsp smoked paprika
For the couscous
- drop of olive oil, for roasting
- 2 red onions, halved and sliced
- 1 aubergine, cut into 1cm cubes
- 200g wholemeal giant couscous
- small bunch of spring onions (about 100g), sliced
- ½ large cucumber (about 320g), chopped
- 1 lemon, zested plus 2 tbsp juice
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 15g mint, leaves chopped
- 8 fresh apricots (about 320g)
- 25g toasted flaked almonds
Method
- STEP 1
Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the coriander in a small bowl with the garlic, sumac, oil and 2 tbsp water, then blitz using a hand blender until smooth. Rub a quarter of it all over the pork, then put the pork on a large baking tray and sprinkle over the paprika.
- STEP 2
For the couscous, rub a drop of oil over the red onions and aubergine, then scatter around the pork. (If your tray isn’t large enough, use two.) Roast for 25 mins. Check the pork and if it isn’t cooked but the vegetables are, take the vegetables out of the oven and cook the pork for another 10-15 mins until the juices run clear.
- STEP 3
Meanwhile, cook the couscous following pack instructions, then drain and tip into a bowl with the remaining garlicky herb mixture. Add the spring onions, cucumber, lemon zest and juice, extra virgin olive oil and mint. Quarter and stone the apricots. If ripe, add the apricots to the salad bowl, but if a little firm, add them to the tray in the oven first to cook for 10 mins until softened.
- STEP 4
Set the pork aside to rest. Add the roasted red onions, aubergine, apricots and almonds to the couscous and toss everything together. Slice the pork, serve half with half the couscous, and chill the rest for another day to eat cold.
Will keep chilled for two to three days.
