Food Hussy Recipe: Strawberry Cacao Roasted Pork Loin Salad

Since the prep work is done already – you just have to cook it the best way for you – whether it’s grill, saute, roast or in the slow cooker. I find the pork loin is too lean for the slow cooker (the Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork Roast is perfect for this).

I decided to sear the pork loin on the stove top – this is super simple – grab the cast iron and sear on all sides. Look at all that bacon! Real bacon! With that – no oil needed. It only took a few minutes to sear. Then I popped it in a 375 oven for 10 minutes. (Side note: I only cooked half the pork loin since I was making this for two people – for four people – use the whole loin.)

Now that my protein was ready to go – time to recreate my favorite salad – but with my Food Hussy tweaks of course. While the pork loin was searing and then in the oven – I was able to prep my salad ingredients.

The original salad is the “Cacao comes from a tree, which is a plan…Chocolate is Salad” (crazy long name I know) The Bite version has spinach, dried cranberries, strawberries, cacao nibs, gorgonzola, pecans, cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette. And I can have fun with that!!

I kept a lot of the ingredients like strawberries, tomatoes and most definitely – the cacao nibs. See cacao nibs are one of those powerful foods – they have antioxidants, flavinoids, fight cardiovascular disease, lots of fiber, magnesium, potassium and they’ll even improve your mood!

Additionally – I used spinach and red onions – but then some more Food Hussy tweaks! I’m a huge fan of goat cheese so any chance to put that in something – I’m doing it. For the dressing – I have a killer recipe for Blueberry Vinaigrette that I use any time I can!

And that pork loin – it’s always perfect at 155 degrees (get a meat thermometer – they’re super cheap and a life saver!) – you want that blush of pink in the center to be sure it’s moist and oh so good.

I can also tell you – this bacon covered pork loin was so amazing!! The bacon helps add even more juice and flavor – I mean – it’s pig on pig! I’ll take that any time!

I cooked mine a little faster because I cut it in half – but you can always slice or cube the pork if you’re in a super hurry. I think cutting it in half was perfect for this – and even if I was cooking the whole loin – I would still do that – just to cut the oven time down. And I always sear on the stove top first – gives it that delicious crust that you don’t want to miss!

My salad was perfection! It definitely reminded me of the great Bite salad – but I had it in the comfort of my own home and in less than 30 minutes from fridge to belly! Woohoo! I’ll take that any day!

The other thing I love about this salad is how complex it is. I would NEVER think to put all this stuff together – but when I do – it’s amazing and it all works together – even with my fun tweaks. Plus – it’s good for you!

Author: Heather JohnsonPrint Recipe

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Strawberry Cacao Pork Loin Salad

I’m not usually one to order a salad at a restaurant – I like cheese and butter and all things bad for me. But there’s one restaurant that has changed my mind – Bite Restaurant in Milford – they make my favorite salad. I was on a mission to make a 30 minute meal and recreate that salad with a few Food Hussy tweaks! First tweak – the protein! I just received a package from Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork and they asked me to create a quick meal and I and thought it would be the perfect match for my copycat salad.

prep time: cook time: total time:

ingredients

• Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork Hardwood Smoked Bacon and Cracked Black Pepper Tenderloin
• 1.5 cups baby spinach
• 1.5 cups romaine lettuce, diced
• 1/2 cup diced strawberries
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup diced blueberries
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs
• 1/3 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 4 oz goat cheese, diced
• Blueberry Vinaigrette salad dressing

instructions

1. – Preheat oven to 375
2. – Sear the Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork loin in a cast iron skillet at medium heat. Sear on all sides for just a couple of minutes on each side.
3. – Transfer cast iron skillet to the oven for 10 minutes more
4. – While the pork is cooking, prep all your salad ingredients
5. – Toss all the ingredients from the spinach to the goat cheese
6. – Remove the pork from the oven and let rest, then slice
7. – Add the blueberry vinaigrette dressing
8. – Plate the dressed salad with slices of pork loin

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork.