Get Cookin' With Delicious, healthy recipe for pork chops with beans, yams and carrots.

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How can you scoff at the lowly bean when the ancient Greeks revered them as vessels that held the souls of the dead? Of course, in modern kitchens we like to give legumes a livelier treatment, such as black beans with the gingery kick of Major Grey’s chutney. If you’ve ever been scared off by the sight of pork fat buried in a cloying mix of sugar and pinto beans on a barbecue buffet table, look at today’s revisionist dish. Lean, healthy, and above all delicious, the trio of pork, black beans, and yams dances with natural sweetness and picks up a Caribbean beat with a spice rub that mimics jerk. If you still consider beans mundane, check out the varieties of heirloom beans harvested on small farms these days. You’ll find the colors and names alone irresistible—Christmas beans, Tongues of Fire, European Soldier, appaloosa, rattlesnakes, scarlet runners, velvet beans, winged peas, delicate flageolet, and toothsome favas.

Black Beans With Chutney

Canned black beans are more than acceptable here (drained but not rinsed), but for the ultimate flavor, prepare the beans from scratch when you have time. The method is simple. Soak the beans (1 cup raw equals approximately 3 cups cooked) in cold water to cover for several hours, overnight if possible. Rinse and cover with cold water about an inch above the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for an hour or until the beans are tender. This recipe serves 8 but you will want to have leftovers, or freeze for another day. Add the final dollop of chutney when you thaw and reheat them. The beans may be prepared 24 hours in advance.

A Complete Meal

For a meatless lunch or supper, serve the beans with tortillas, pita or French bread, or grilled polenta. The combination of beans and grain supply one of the combinations of what is called a complete protein—all the amino acids your body needs.

4 cups cooked black beans with 1/4 cup of its liquid, homemade or canned low sodium
1/2 cup Major Grey or other favorite chutney, divided into 2 equal portions
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup shallots, finely diced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup low-fat milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 butter lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry, cut into julienne strips

Place the beans and liquid, half of the chutney, orange juice, shallots, brown sugar, and mustard in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat immediately and simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir in the remaining chutney by teaspoons, tasting after each addition until you have a desirable blend of sugar and spice. Cook for 5 minutes more. Serve while hot with the yogurt spooned on top.

(Serves 8)

Oven-Roasted Yams and Carrots (Nutritional Information)

Proving that the simplest is often the best, roasting yams in their jackets (what could be easier?) caramelizes their natural sugars to perfection, making them the ideal mate for the richly seasoned beans and spiced pork. Top the yams with a crown of piquant carrots to tame the robust flavors in this menu. By the way, purists will know that what supermarkets describe as yams are really varieties of sweet potato. True yams are tubers of a different color (and species).

Tasty Technique

Open roasting tends to dry out carrots (unless you bathe them in copious and unnecessary quantities of oil or butter). Instead, wrap them in foil with a light dusting of salt and pepper and spoon orange or lemon juice over them before popping them in the oven. This method is as nutritious as steaming or microwaving them, but more flavorful. Just don’t slice the carrots too thick or you will have to extend the cooking time.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

4 small yams, preferably garnet or jewel, scrubbed
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced approximately 1/4 inch on the diagonal
1 scant teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Place the yams on a piece of foil but do not cover.
Place the carrots on a large piece of foil in one layer, sprinkle with the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Fold the edges to form a tightly sealed packet.
Place the yams on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Add the packet of carrots and continue roasting for 30 minutes or until both vegetables are fork tender.
Pull away the skin of the yams and spoon the pulp into a serving bowl. Cover with the carrots and serve immediately.

(Serves 4)

Spice-Rubbed Pork Cutlets

It isn’t just quick preparation that makes a recipe attractive to the harried cook. You have to have seasoning methods that invigorate your foods and make them taste-tempting as well. Use pumpkin pie spice, for example, instead of measuring out cinnamon, allspice, and so forth, to add flavorful dimension to a simple pan-seared cutlet. You can omit the speedy sauce at the end—the liquid from the beans will moisten the pork—but it adds an easy gourmet touch to a dish that only takes 5 to 6 minutes of cooking time. Remember, for tender cutlets, keep the heat low when you cook the pork

Quick Tip

Keep the spice rub in your cupboard for adding sparkle to chicken or turkey breasts, too.

Spice Rub:

2 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8–1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, depending on taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon finely ground white or black pepper
4 boneless pork loin cutlets (6 oz. each), about 3/4 to 1-inch thick, trimmed of all fat
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup low-fat chicken broth
1/4 cup shallots, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sweet Dijon-style mustard

Health Notes

Pork must be thoroughly cooked to avoid contamination with harmful bacteria. Always wash your hands after handling raw pork to prevent transferring bacteria to the other foods you are preparing.

Prepare the spice rub by measuring into a small jar with a tightly fitting lid, the flour, pumpkin pie spice, marjoram, thyme (crushed finely between your fingers), cayenne, salt, and white pepper. Blend thoroughly either by shaking well or whisking with a fork. This may be made ahead, covered, and stored in your cupboard.

A Word About Cooking Pork

In response to a call for leaner meat, farmers send pork to market with a fraction of the fat that many of us recall from childhood. Tenderloin cuts are almost as lean as chicken breast. The price for a healthier cut of pork, however, is meat without enough fat to moisten and tenderize the muscle fibers. Quick cooking over high heat, such as on a grill, results in chewy (read: tough as shoe leather) meat. Use moist heat methods, such as braising or stewing to render pork fork tender. I like to prepare cutlets (thin, boneless loin chops) the way I cook veal cutlets. Use low to medium heat (high heat will toughen the meat) after slicing the cutlets in half and pounding them a few times to thin and tenderize them, in the process, releasing the aggressions of the day. Who said cooking isn’t fun?

Rinse the pork briefly under cold running water and pat with paper towels until thoroughly dry. With a sharp knife, slit the pork in half so that you have cutlets no more than 1/3–1/2 an inch thick. Place the pork between two pieces of plastic wrap and smack several times with the bottom of a heavy skillet or pot.
Rub approximately 1/4 teaspoon of spice mixture into each side of the pork cutlets. Cover and store any remaining spice mix in your cupboard for future use.
Coat a heavy skillet with a light film of vegetable spray. Place over medium heat for 30 seconds or so until a few drops of water dance on the surface. Add the cutlets and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until they begin to brown. Be sure to keep the heat medium–low. Do not overcook. The pork is done when it is barely pink in the center (it will continue to cook in its own heat as you finish the sauce). Place the pork on a piece of foil and cover to keep warm.

Healthy Pantry

Look for chicken broth concentrate, such as Better Than Bouillon, in the refrigerated section of your supermarket. More flavorful than bouillon cubes, a teaspoon in a cup of hot water gives you instant, delicious low-fat chicken broth.

Add the wine, chicken broth, and shallots and bring to a boil, stirring to incorporate the pan juices. Reduce the heat slightly and cook over high heat until the juices reduce by about a third. Don’t let it reduce too much or you won’t have enough sauce. You should have between 2 to 3 tablespoons of finished sauce per person. Add the mustard and stir briefly until thickened. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired. Drizzle over the pork and serve immediately.

(Serves 4)