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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Serve everything together on a big platter. It was soooo good!
Kathleen
August 30, 2012 10:16 pmI made these tonight using pork tenderloin cut into chunks. It was pretty good and I liked the rice and dipping sauce. Thanks robyn!
trkingmomoe
August 28, 2012 6:16 amThat looks so good. Thanks for sharing your recipe.