Pork Cutlets: Stir-Fried with colorful veggies and accented with Asian flavors

Here's a recipe that is quick and easy, and very tasty thanks to the ginger and sesame oil. I love this with shiitake mushrooms, but any type of mushroom will do.
I included a hard-to-find ingredient for fun: kumquats, sliced in half lengthwise. They add a sweet-sour citrus zing that is quite unusual. If you can't get kumquats, the dish is good without!

Recipe: Pork Cutlets with Peppers, Leeks and Mushrooms

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 thinly sliced, very lean, boneless pork cutlets (trim off any visible fat)

Salt and pepper

2 T canola oil

1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

1 cup sliced kumquats (optional)

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 cups sliced mushrooms, preferably shiitake

1-2 T minced fresh ginger

¾ cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Heat canola oil in a large, deep-sided frying pan over medium-high heat

Sprinkle pork cutlets with salt and pepper and add to pan

Brown on one side, about 3 minutes, turn and brown the other side of the cutlet, then remove pork to a plate, cover with foil and keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium. Add leeks, pepper and kumquats (if using) and stir-fry until vegetables start to tenderize, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms, stirring well, and stir-fry until mushrooms begin to give up their liquid, about 3 minutes.

Stir in ginger and vegetable broth; cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 minutes, then return pork to the pan and cover again. When pork has heated, stir in sesame oil and sprinkle with the seeds, if using.

Blueberry Mustard Sauce -- great with pork, chicken, even salmon

For my upcoming birthday, my BFF gave me a pile of blueberry products she got up in Michigan (a.k.a. blueberry heaven) -- she knows it's my favorite fruit.
One of the items was blueberry mustard, which set me on a quest to use some late-season berries in a somewhat unusual way.
If you don't have blueberry mustard, that's fine -- just use regular mustard in this recipe.
For company, I had it with grilled pork tenderloin, served here (in photo) on a bed of greens, mixed veggies and grains. The sauce received rave reviews!
I had enough leftover to sauce another dish; I popped it in the freezer for now and will likely use it with chicken or fish in a couple of weeks.

Recipe: Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Mustard Sauce Serves 4
Ingredients:
One large pork tenderloin, about 1 1/4 pounds
3 T minced garlic
2 T canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 medium to large shallot, finely chopped
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 pints fresh blueberries
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 T mustard (or blueberry mustard)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 T sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:
In a flat bowl large enough to hold the tenderloin, mix together garlic and canola oil. Season pork with salt and pepper and place in bowl. Turn pork to coat all sides with garlic mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 6 hours. Remove pork from marinade and scrape off garlic bits (they will burn when grilled).
Preheat a grill until hot. Cook pork on medium-high heat to desired level of doneness.
While grill is heating, make the sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan and add the shallot. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes, until shallot starts to soften.
Stir in blueberries, wine and mustard. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 5 minutes, then uncover and increase heat to medium-high, letting mixture boil and give up some of its liquid. Add lemon juice, sugar and seasonings. Taste and adjust as needed, adding more sugar if you think it needs it.

Let pork sit on a cutting board for a few minutes after you remove it from the grill. Slice pork thickly (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches) and arrange on a platter. Top with a small amount of sauce, then pass the rest of the sauce in a gravy boat at the table.

Stir-fry with pork tenderloin and snow peas

This dish started with a small piece of pork tenderloin that had been in my freezer for a couple of weeks--perhaps 6 or 7 ounces. It wasn't enough to make the centerpiece of our plates, but plenty to use with a veggie-heavy, Asian accented dinner.

Slice the pork into thin strips so it cooks as fast as your thinly-sliced vegetables do. Served over brown rice, it's a great weeknight supper.


Recipe: Stir-fried pork, shiitake mushrooms, and snow peas

Serves 2 -- can be doubled

Ingredients:
2 T canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (orange or red)
2 T minced garlic
6-8 ounces pork tenderloin, cut into strips and lightly salted
2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup shredded carrots (optional)
1 cup chicken broth or stock
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 T sesame seeds (optional)
3 T sodium-reduced soy sauce, plus more for serving

Instructions:
Heat oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add onion, pepper and garlic. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until veggies start to tenderize. Increase heat to medium-high, add pork and stir fry until it begins to lose its pink color. Add mushrooms and carrots, continuing to stir constantly.
When mushrooms begin to lose their juices, add stock and reduce heat back to medium.
Stir fry for another couple of minutes, adding sesame seeds, pepper and soy sauce.
Serve immediately over brown rice, if desired, and pass soy sauce at the table.