Photo by Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post
This boldly flavorful herb sauce is seasoned with tangy lime, ginger, garlic and toasted sesame oil. Here, it is paired with lean grilled pork cutlets, but it is delicious drizzled on simply grilled fish, chicken and vegetables, eggs, potatoes or ripe summer tomatoes. The chops can be cooked on an outdoor grill as well.
Make Ahead: The pesto can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Grilled Pork Cutlets With Cilantro Peanut Pesto
Ingredients
For the Pesto
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Directions
For the pesto: Combine the cilantro, peanuts, lime juice, garlic, ginger, salt, crushed red pepper flakes and the 3 tablespoons of water in a mini food processor; pulse until finely chopped. With the motor running, drizzle in the peanut oil and toasted sesame oil to form a blended pesto. The yield is about 3/4 cup.
For the pork: Place the pork chops on a cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Use a mallet or rolling pin to pound them to a thickness of about 1/4-inch.
Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the pork with oil and season with the salt and pepper, then grill until just slightly blush in the center and grill marks have formed, 2 minutes per side.
Serve the pork with about 1 1/2 tablespoons pesto drizzled over each piece. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro leaves.
Makes 6 servings,
Serving size: 1 pork chop and about 2 tablespoons pesto
Per serving: Calories 310; Total Fat 19 g; (Sat Fat 4 g); Protein 32 g; Carb 4 g; Fiber 0 g; Cholesterol 80 mg; Sodium 290 mg; Total Sugar 0 g
