My son Jonathan started eating avocados with vinaigrette when he was three. Is that the test of a true Californian? The recipe this week is especially for avocado lovers.
This brightly flavored salad of buttery lettuce with velvet textured avocado, caramelized pork and doused with orange curry dressing is a fresh and satisfying meal.
Citrus and Curry Roasted Pork Salad
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Dry Rub
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pork Glaze
- ½ c dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- 1 teaspoon tabasco
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
Preheat the oven 350°
Mix all the ingredients for the dry rub and rub it into the pork loin. Set aside
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
Make the glaze by combining all three ingredients in a small bowl. Using your hands press the mixture all over the pork. Some will fall off into the pan—that is fine. Now place the skillet on a rack in the middle of the oven.
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
Salad Dressing
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
For the Salad
- 2 navel oranges peeled and sliced in rounds about ¼” thick
- 2 avocados peeled and sliced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced into thin strips
- 2 heads of lettuce ( I like to mix butter and red leaf for texture and color)
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
Make dressing: combine all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake to blend
Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat— add pork turning to brown all sides, about 3-4 minutes a side. Leave the pork in the skillet and turn off the heat.
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
Cook for 35 minutes (I like my pork medium). If you want it slightly pink take it out after 25 minutes. Be careful to use an oven mitt—the handle of the skillet will be very hot. Let the pork sit in the skillet for about 10 minutes while you arrange the plates. Using the lettuce first, make sure it is dry so that the dressing will stick to it. Next arrange the oranges, avocados and bell peppers on top of the lettuce. Then slice the pork, place in the middle of the plate, and pour a little dressing over the salad. Serve with a good loaf of bread and extra dressing on the side.
This recipe can easily be doubled. As a variation in the winter, I make this pork with couscous and a vegetable. No lettuce, oranges, or avocados but still using the dressing as a sauce over the pork and the couscous.
Written by: Claudia Alexander
Photo by: Lucy Alexander