Last week’s Gastropost mission was super fun: Food on a Stick! I was originally going to do some type of s’mores situation (skewered graham cake, homemade marshmallows, hot fudge dipping sauce), but I took things in a more savoury direction. Here’s what I had to say:

As a condo-dweller without a barbecue, I took this mission on the road to my parents backyard so I could use theirs. I chose this recipe from the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine: pork kabobs marinated in a spice mixture with ground coriander, cumin and paprika, rice pilaf with fresh cilantro, and a greek yogurt based dipping sauce with lemon and more cilantro. Sticklicious.

Okay, I don’t think I sold it enough there. This was the best thing I’ve cooked all summer! The original recipe used lamb, but I substituted thick boneless pork chops. I also don’t think I’ve cooked rice all summer long, so I just kept scooping that up. If you love cilantro (the fresh leaves) and coriander (the ground seed), this would be right up your alley.

Pork Kabobs, Rice Pilaf & Coriander Cream

Source: Food & Drink Magazine, Early Summer 2012

Yield: serves 4

Ingredients

Pork Kabobs

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2-4 garlic cloves, minced (I like a lot of garlic)

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves

4 thick boneless pork chops, cut into 1″ cubes

1 red pepper, but into 1″ pieces

+ skewers (if you use wood ones, soak them in water for 15 minutes or so before using)

Rice Pilaf

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice

1/2 tsp salt

3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Coriander Cream (Dipping Sauce)

1 cup plain greek yogurt

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

  1. Get your marinade ready for the kabobs. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, honey, lemon juice, garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt and cilantro. Pour into a big ziploc bag, and add the pork cubes. Smoosh all around until the marinade covers all the pork. Set in the fridge for a few hours.
  2. When you’re ready to grill, thread the pork onto your skewers, adding a red pepper every now and then. Throw them on the BBQ and cook until done.
  3. For the rice, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan with a lid. Add the onion, and saute for 5 minutes or so, until soft. Stir in the rice and salt. Add the broth, and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the chopped cilantro.
  4. For the dipping sauce, mix everything together and stash in the fridge. I did this in the morning when I was getting the marinade ready so the cream had time to develop the flavours.
  5. Serve everything together on a big platter. It was soooo good!