Make Healthyish's cumin pork cutlets

Sunshine-yellow butternut squash and crunchy quick-pickled red onions provide a vibrant contrast to tender pork cutlets, infused with cumin and smoky paprika

Published: Monday 6th January 2020

Serves 4

Preparation time 30 mins

Cooking time 20 mins

Whether you made any New Year's resolution or not, you're probably feeling like it's about time to mix up the mince pie and mulled wine diet you've been existing on for the last month with something, well, a little more nutritious.

Eating healthily doesn't have to be boring - far from it. If you're not trying Veganuary, why not have a go at this Healthy(ish) recipe, backed with protein-packed pork and potassium- rich butternut squash? It's really tasty - enough so to fill the mince pie shaped hole in your heart until November 1st 2020, at least.

Top tip: make sure to pound the pork until it's nice and thin. To do so, wrap a cutlet loosely with plastic wrap and place on your cutting board. Using a meat mallet, pound the pork cutlets until they're ¼ inch thick. Repeat with the remaining cutlets. If you don't have a meat mallet, a rolling pin will do just fine.

Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 pork cutlets (about 455g in total), pounded to ¼-inch thickness
  • 60ml olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 32g chopped fresh coriander leaves
  • 2 tablespoons quick-pickled red onions (see recipe here)

Method

  1. Fill a steamer pot with 2.5cm of water and fit with the steamer insert. Cover and bring to a boil, then add the butternut squash. Cook until you can easily poke a piece of butternut squash with a fork, 15 to 18 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the cumin, smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
  3. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the pork cutlets, making sure both sides are evenly coated.
  4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Do this in batches, if necessary. Transfer the pork to a plate, cover with aluminium foil to keep it warm, and let rest for 5 minutes, 
  5. When the squash is done cooking, transfer it to a serving bowl and mash with a potato masher. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
  6. Stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the lime juice, coriander, pickled onions, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve the cutlets over the squash, topped with the coriander-lime sauce.

Healthyish by Lindsay Hunt. Published by Abrams; photograph by Linda Pugliese.

Loading