Grilled Pork with Curried Apricots and Napa Cabbage

Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 4

• Fast-cooking pork tenderloin is coated with olive oil, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, then grilled over a moderately hot fire. Slice it before serving as the dish’s central protein.
• Dried apricots are plumped briefly in boiling water, then sautéed with butter, curry powder, cabbage and rosemary to create a sweet-savoury accompaniment for succulent grilled pork.
• Smoky grilled meat meets a lively curried vegetable mixture studded with fruit, resulting in an aromatic, satisfying meal in only half an hour.

Katy Sparks enjoys combining curry and fruit, as demonstrated by this distinctive pork dish with sweet apricots and softened cabbage. Rather than a hotter Madras blend, she uses mild curry powder, which prevents the spice from overpowering the dish’s other flavours.

Why napa cabbage works best in this recipe

Avoid replacing napa cabbage with ordinary green cabbage, as they are very different ingredients. Also called Chinese cabbage, napa cabbage is valued for its gentle sweetness and crisp yet tender texture. Its delicate, crinkled leaves are ideal for eating raw or cooking quickly, including in stir-fries and sautés like this one. Conventional green cabbage has a stronger cabbage taste and dense, sturdy leaves, making it better suited to stews and braises, where it has plenty of time to soften.

California apricots versus Turkish apricots

You can make the curried apricots with either type of dried apricot, although each will give a different outcome. California apricots are halved and stoned before drying, so they look darker and more wrinkled, have a chewier texture and deliver an intensely sharp flavour. They provide a bright contrast to the cabbage. Turkish apricots, by contrast, are dried whole and are therefore plumper. Their paler colour, fruity sweetness and much milder flavour make them a gentler pairing.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

• Sparks leaves the apricots whole, but you can chop them if they are particularly large or if you would prefer them to be distributed more evenly through the cabbage.
• This recipe uses 900 g of napa cabbage. Although it reduces dramatically during cooking, it takes up considerable space at first. Add it in batches if your pan is not large enough to hold it all at once. Cook it only until wilted, so it keeps some texture rather than becoming soggy.

Ingredients

• 150 g dried apricots
• 240 ml water
• 450 g pork tenderloin, cut into 4 pieces
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
• 1 head napa cabbage (900 g), shredded
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Light the grill. Put the apricots and water in a small saucepan, bring to the boil, then take off the heat. Leave for 3 minutes before draining.
2. Coat the pork with olive oil, then season it with salt and pepper. Grill over a moderately hot fire, turning from time to time, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice each piece into 3 slices.
3. While the pork cooks, melt the butter in a large frying pan. Stir in the curry powder and cook over a medium heat until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, apricots and rosemary; season with salt and pepper. Cook over a high heat, stirring until the cabbage has wilted, about 5 minutes. Divide the curried cabbage and apricots between plates, arrange the grilled pork slices on top and serve.

Originally appeared: April 2005