Pork and Lemon Balm Spelt Salad

If I’m honest, I have blogged little recently and cooked even less. Other people get inspired by hot summer weather and create wonderful meals of seasonal produce to be eaten outdoors. I tend to hide indoors eating a Magnum for dinner in front of an open window which is blissful but hard to write about.

My summer eating has also been cramped (literally) by the whole Fodmap thing. All stone fruit are a no-no. One small roasted flat peach the other week made me so ill I had to spend the next day in a darkened room with a fruit induced hangover basically. Asparagus is out. So are avocados. Corn and peas are only allowed in homeopathic amounts. Cherry tomatoes are causing issues. My innards wish it was mid winter and they could have some nice swede and curly kale.

Thank god for spinach is all I can say. Sometimes you just need something green and leafy and it does the trick. But it’s not what I’d call filling so I’m always looking for ways to bulk it up a bit. My friend Alex is a fellow Fodmapper who has issues with the wheat-rye-barley school and she introduce me to pearled spelt recently as a barley alternative.

Sadly much more expensive and only really available in Waitrose or through Sharpham Park, pearled spelt looks very like pearl barley but is more robust and hearty. It would be great in soups where I love that chewy grain texture but I’m wishing winter back again to talk about that, so I made a spelt salad.

I’m eating a LOT of meat right now. I’m trying a higher protein diet for gut issues generally while I learn more about leaky gut syndrome and auto immune illnesses (warning: Google is full of woo on this subject so read carefully) and because with most fruit and veg and all pulses being excluded and cheese limited, I don’t have many other choices. You need much more protein to fill you up when you can’t really bulk up on fibre as well. I’m trying to eat a variety of types of meat and fish and vary the cuts to keep it interesting.

I got a pork tenderloin inexpensively in Tesco recently (somewhere I alamost never shop but went into to enjoy their air con). Still a well priced cut, there’s no waste on it and a whole one does me about four meals. I combined it with some impulse purchase lemon balm, green beans and spinach and drizzled it with a lemon vinaigrette. It was delicious, but if anyone has any tips on giving vinaigrette a new twist or can suggest other Fodmap friendly dressings, please let me know!

Pork and Lemon Balm Spelt Salad (serves 4)

• 450g pork (I used tenderloin or fillet)
• 150g spelt (uncooked weight)
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced and 1 lemon sliced
• 1 courgette, sliced
• 150g green beans
• 1 tablespoon garlic oil
• 1 big bag spinach
• 50g green olives
• 4 stalks lemon balm
• small handful fresh parsley
• small handful fresh chives
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar with a dash of lemon juice
• 1 heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

Start by soaking the spelt in cold water for at least half an hour if you have time. I did mine in the morning and left it all day. It makes it quicker to cook, saves on labourious washing and gives a lovely texture to the cooked grain.

Add the soaked spelt to a large pan and cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until the spelt still has slight bite but is cooked. Drain and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

Season the pork well. Seal it on each side for about 2 minutes to add some colour and then lay out some tinfoil and set the sliced lemon on it. Wrap the pork up in the foil like a parcel and pop in the oven for 12 minutes on 180 ℃. Leave to rest for 5-7 minutes and then slice thinly.

While the spelt is cooling, slice your courgette and fry in the garlic oil (remember Fodmaps are not oil soluble so garlic oil is fine). When they are cooked, dry fry the green beans in the remaining oil until slightly softened. Add both to the cooked spelt along with the lemon juice and zest.

Make the vinaigrette by combining the olive oil, vinegar and mustard and mixing well. Tear the lemon balm with your hands. It will discolour if you use a metal knife. Toss it into the spelt along with the sliced pork and add the chopped parsley and chives. Add the spinach and the olives and toss it all well so the warmth of the pork wilts the spinach just slightly.

Serve and eat outside if possible to give you that proper summer feeling. Excellent with a Magnum for afters too, preferably a Dark Espresso one…