Recipe of the Week: Pork with Brown Rice and Black Beans with a Green Chili-Cilantro Sauce

I was going through a stack of old magazines a few weeks ago and I came across this recipe in a Real Simple. I made the recipe exactly as written, but found it to be bland and lacking something.  The components were great, but they didn't come together the way that I had hoped for.

I think the revised recipe is a hit!  It ties the recipe together and adds more flavor, plus a creamy sauce. 

Don't ever think that you can't adapt a recipe or change things around to suit your taste. This is what makes cooking the ultimate adventure!

Enjoy!
Stacy

Pork with Brown Rice and Black Beans with a Green Chili-Cilantro Sauce - Adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain brown rice

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 4 oz can green chilies

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 small white onion, diced

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

juice of 1 lime, divided

1/2 tsp ground cumin

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 cups mixed greens

5 radishes, sliced

2 green onion, sliced

salt and pepper

4 boneless pork chops

Directions:

Heat oven to 425F.

Cook rice according to instructions. Rinse and drain beans and place in a small saucepan and warm over low heat.

Combine the cilantro, green chilies, garlic, white onion, sour cream, mayo, juice of 1/2 lime and cumin in food processor.  Mix until smooth then slowly add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to emulsify.

Mix the greens, radish and green onions.  Season with salt and pepper and dress with juice of 1/2 lime and 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Set aside.

Heat the remaining oil (2 tablespoons) in a large skillet over high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper.  Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until browned.

Transfer the pork to the oven and cook until a instant-read thermometer reads 145F (another 6-8 minutes).

To serve: Place 1/2 cup rice on a plate and top with 1/4 cup black beans.  Add salad mix to the top of the rice and place one pork chop on top of rice/bean/salad.  Drizzle two tablespoons of cilantro sauce on top of pork.

Picture found through Google images - minus the sauce

Recipe adapted from Real Simple