This is the type of simple meal my Irishman and I love to have for weeknight dinners. It’s simple. It’s packed with flavour and there are loads of veggies and protein.

Plus it all cooks quickly in one pot so the clean up is speedy as well.

If you don’t have Sichuan peppercorns, they’re a really unique ingredient. I love how they give little tingly bursts of flavour on your tongue as you eat them.

A wake-up call for your taste buds!

enough for: 2
takes: 20 minutes
1 large bunch chard, sliver beet, kale or other greens
450g (1lb) pork mince
3 tablespoons each soy sauce and water
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
large handful roasted cashews to serve
chilli oil or chilli salt, to serve

1. If using chard or silver beet, finely slice stems and coarsley chop the leaves, keeping the stems separate. If using kale, spinach or other greens just coarsely chop everything.

2. Heat a large pot on a medium high heat. Add a good glug of oil and chard / silverbeet stems and cook, covered until starting to soften – about 5 minutes. Skip this step if using other greens.

3. If using other greens, heat a large pot on a high heat and add a little oil and pork. If you’re cooking the stems, increase the heat to high and add the pork.

4. Stir fry until pork is no longer pink and cooked through. Add soy sauce, water and sichuan peppercorns and then add the chopped green leaves. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring every now and then. You’re waiting until the greens are just cooked through.

5. Taste and season with a little more soy sauce, if needed. Divide between two bowls and top with cashews and serve chilli oil / chilli salt for everyone to add their own at the table.

WINE MATCH: A crisp riesling or sauvignon blanc or a glass of pinot noir.

Variations & Substitutions

short on time – use frozen greens. Make sure you defrost them first and squeeze out the extra moisture.

vegetarian / vegan – replace pork with cooked lentils or chickpeas.

more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with steamed rice or rice noodles

more substantial (low carb) – extra cashews or serve with cauliflower ‘rice’.

more flavour – feel free to add minced garlic and/or grated ginger with the pork.

Low FODMAP – use roast peanuts or other low FODMAP nuts instead of the cashews

family-friendly – for my green-phobic boys, I cook the pork in the soy sauce and Sichuan then keep it separately for them to have with rice and a very small amount of the greens.

different veg – the pork also works really well with broccoli or green beans – they’ll just take a little longer to cook than the greens.

different meat – any minced (ground) meat will work. Chicken or turkey are the most similar but beef or lamb are also lovely with the Sichuan tang

Waste Avoidance Strategy

chard, sliver beet, kale or other greens – will keep in the fridge in a plastic bag for at least 2 weeks. Can be frozen both cooked or raw.

pork mince – freeze it.

chilli-salt / roasted cashews / Sichuan peppercorns / soy sauce – keep them in the pantry.

Prepare Ahead

Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the cashews and chilli oil / chilli salt separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in a pan or wok with a little oil.