Sizzling Mexican Pork And Plum Salad
Contributed by: NAPSA
(NAPSA) - Get ready to dazzle your friends and family. Sizzling Mexican Pork and Plum Salad is a zesty, colorful main-dish salad featuring a delicious, healthful array of vegetables, fruit and lean meat.
Shredded red and green cabbage, red bell pepper, cilantro, and strips of sweet, moist dried plum are tossed together with Mexican-flavored pork tenderloin and a warm, tangy dressing. The combination of flavors and textures is superb. Be ready for lots of requests for the recipe.
A good part of what makes this dish memorable is the creative use of dried plums. The sweet flavor and moist, chewy texture are the perfect complement to the tangy dressing, spicy pork and crunchy vegetables. Dried plums can be found plain as well as with a hint of lemon or orange essence. Available under the Sunsweet brand, all of these dried plums will work nicely in this recipe. Dried plums, remembered by many as prunes, are a popular fruit loved for their flavor and sought after for their nutritional value. A one and one-half ounce serving of dried plums contributes 3g dietary fiber, 290mg potassium, 10% Daily Value of vitamin A and a multitude of health-promoting phytochemicals.
California dried plums are versatile and make a great snack to take on a walk, a bike ride, to the gym, or to the pool. As an ingredient, dried plums are a tasty addition to blended fruit smoothies; added to fruit salads with crystallized ginger strips, and toasted coconut; and, snipped into pieces and stirred into banana bread or baked into oatmeal cookies. It's important to eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day for good health. Make sure California dried plums are at least one of those daily fruit servings.
Ingredients:
- Salad:
- 4 cups ready-to-eat coleslaw*
- 20 Sunsweet Dried Plums, cut into 3 strips
- 1/2 cup thin strips red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/2 cup roasted, salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), optional
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- Mexican Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice or red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional
- Pork:
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 3/4 pound pork tenderloin, fat-trimmed and cut into thin strips
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed
- Garnish: tortilla chips (optional)
Directions:
Combine salad ingredients in large bowl. In small bowl, mix dressing ingredients.
To cook pork, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic. Stir and cook until brown. Stir in dressing ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook until pork is cooked through, about 1 minute.
Pour pork and dressing over salad. Toss gently. Mound in center of large plate or platter and surround with tortilla chips, if desired.
*Can substitute finely shredded green cabbage mixed with a little shredded carrot and red cabbage, if desired.
Serving Size: Makes 4 Servings
