This Italian-inspired sweet and tangy capsicum sauce is a delicious accompaniment to pork or protein of choice – perfectly paired with a peppery rocket and fennel salad.
This Week
9 Dec - 15 Dec
Italian Pork Fillet with Sweet, Tangy Capsicum Sauce and Rocket, Fennel Salad
- Under 1 hour
- 4
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Meal Prep Guide
Make the Capsicum Sauce. (Store in the fridge in an airtight container).
Ingredients
- 2 red onions (finely sliced, lengthwise)
- 2 red capsicums (finely sliced, lengthwise)
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup stock or bone broth
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Start by making the capsicum sauce. Heat a medium pan over low-medium heat, then add a generous drizzle of olive oil, capsicums, onion and garlic; cook for 10 minutes or until soft and caramelised.
- Add the red wine vinegar and honey; increase the heat to a gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the vinegar has almost reduced completely, stirring occasionally.
- Add the stock or bone broth and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick and slightly sticky in consistency. Allow to cool before popping in a container.
Tips
Tips
- We like to use a mandolin or a sharp knife to finely slice the fennel so it’s paper-thin.
- Pork fillets differ in size quite a lot so the cooking time will need to be adjusted based on the size of the fillet.
- When you’re making a simple salad like this, we make the dressing in the salad bowl first, then add the salad ingredients – this means you can save on dishes.
- If you’ve got a hungry household we recommend serving alongside our Perfect Baked Potatoes
Shortcuts
Protein
- You can swap out the pork for chicken breast, you’ll just need to adjust the cooking time.
- For a vegetarian option swap out the pork fillet for eggplant wedges. Simply cut two eggplants into wedges lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt; cook at 200 degrees fan bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Spoon over the sauce and serve alongside salad.
Vegetables
- Swap out the fennel for finely sliced radish.
- Swap out the salad for roasted broccoli or steamed green beans.
Ingredients
Capsicum sauce
- 2 red onions (finely sliced, lengthwise)
- 2 red capsicums (finely sliced, lengthwise)
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup chicken or vegetable stock or bone broth
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Pork
- 600g pork fillet
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Salad
- 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
- 1 bag of rocket (120g)
- 1 fennel bulb (finely sliced)
- ½ cucumber (sliced)
- ¼ cup of parmesan (shaved)
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Start by making the capsicum sauce. Heat a medium pan over low-medium heat, then add a generous drizzle of olive oil, capsicums, onion and garlic; cook for 10 minutes or until soft and caramelised.
- Add the red wine vinegar and honey; increase the heat to a gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the vinegar has almost reduced completely, stirring occasionally.
- Add the stock or bone broth and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick and slightly sticky in consistency.
- While the sauce is reducing, cook the pork. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pork fillet, then sprinkle over the dried oregano and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper.
- Heat a frypan over high heat until very hot (about 1 minute). Add the pork fillet and cook undisturbed for 3-5 minutes on each side, forming a golden brown crust on the outside.
- Turn down to medium heat and cook for another 15 minutes or until cooked through (pork fillets differ in size, so the cooking time may need to be adjusted based on the size of the fillet). Once cooked, allow it to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing
- While the pork is resting, prepare the salad. Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper to a large salad bowl and mix well. Toss through the fennel, rocket, cucumber and parmesan.
- Top the sliced pork with the capsicum sauce and alongside the salad.
Variations
Protein
- You can swap out the pork for chicken breast, you’ll just need to adjust the cooking time.
- For a vegetarian option swap out the pork fillet for eggplant wedges. Simply cut two eggplants into wedges lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt; cook at 200 degrees fan bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Spoon over the sauce and serve alongside salad.
Vegetables
- Swap out the fennel for finely sliced radish.
- Swap out the salad for roasted broccoli or steamed green beans.
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