Sides to go with curried pork with apples?

I'm planning to make a recipe for curried pork with apples from Serious Eats for a group dinner next weekend. For the same meal, I'm looking for suggestions on two vegetable side dishes and a dessert to prepare. It's supposed to be a relatively healthy meal, so I probably need to stay away from, say, large amounts of butter and bacon. I also have a modest budget, so cost of ingredients is a consideration.

Ideas?

Thanks in advance,
Sharon

Hmm. That's a lot of flavor to compete with; I can see why it's not a cinch.

I always love the little simple cucumber salads that go with everything at Thai restaurants; I think the bright sweet-sour flavors would marry with the same flavors in your curry. Epicurious has a recipe, though it seems needlessly complicated. Or maybe a carrot salad along similar lines. The other dish I was thinking of was gastro gnome's butter braised radishes, but there are a number of radish dishes in this thread that might work.

My go-to healthy dessert is always poached pears (I usually poach in a syrup of red wine, coffee, sugar and spices) but I think that would be overkill with the apple curry. Maybe homemade gingersnaps and coffee - or fill the gingersnaps with sorbet for ice cream sandwiches? Or a panna cotta?

I usually make shredded white cabbage stir fried with garam masala, black mustard seeds & a little haldi (turmeric powder) with pork curry. If you prep the cabbage & spices in advance, it takes a few minutes to cook just before serving & its not a disaster if it sits for a while.

For dessert I'd suggest something like grilled pineapple with ice cream (vanilla, honey, coconut or ginger depending on how exotic you want to get; vanilla ice cream topped with stem ginger sauce is nice option plus or minus the pineapple too).

Roasted sweet potatoes would go well with both the curry and the apples. I'd probably go with a very light, crisp vegetable dish, too (for the contrast in texture): lettuce or mixed greens with a dressing of oil and lemon, or green beans with lemon. Some other citrusy winter salads: sliced fennel with fresh orange or clementine sections, dressed with oil, salt and pepper or grated jicama and carrot dressed with oil and lemon. If you'd prefer something warm, you could always do simple greens: swiss chard sauteed with oil and garlic and splashed with a little vinegar, or something along those lines.

I like the idea of a fruit dessert, too. Another possibility is to make little cookies: lemon or lemon-poppyseed shortbread, or nut meringues could be nice. You could offer ice cream, too, for those who want a more luxurious dessert.

Are you planning on rice with the curry? A pea pilaf is a nice alternative to plain rice, as is couscous with almonds with pork.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I should have also mentioned in my initial request that I'll be cooking for a pretty conservative group of eaters. I'm actually trying to inch them out of their comfort zone with the curried pork and apples. It's an experiment of sorts.

Athena wrote:I usually make shredded white cabbage stir fried with garam masala, black mustard seeds & a little haldi (turmeric powder) with pork curry.

This dish sounds particularly appealing to me, but--and I try not to completely underestimate folks' willingness to try new things--it may be too much for the group on Saturday. My hope is that in a few months of my cooking and pushing them, they'll be ready for that salad.

I like the idea of a carrot & jicama salad. I also really like the idea of gingersnaps. Logistically, ice cream or sorbet could be difficult given transport and the kitchen I work in. However, I'm intrigued by the idea of nut meringues. Any suggestions for a recipe to use? I will be doing a lot of the cooking, but I will also have others helping me who may not necessarily have much kitchen experience, so I have to take into consideration technique required.

Athena wrote:Are you planning on rice with the curry? A pea pilaf is a nice alternative to plain rice, as is couscous with almonds with pork.

I was going to serve it over brown rice, but I like the pea pilaf idea a lot...maybe cous cous, but there's the comfort zone issue again...

You guys are great!

Hazelnut macaroons:

2 egg whites
100 grams superfine sugar
pinch of cinnamon
1-2 drops of almond extract (if desired)
175 grams ground hazelnuts

Beat egg whites until stiff, and slowly add in the sugar, cinnamon and extract (if you're using it). Gently fold in the nuts.

Place in spoonfuls on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Bake in a cool oven (275-300 degrees) for about 20 minutes. The time will depend on how large your macaroons are, so watch them carefully.

I should add, though, that I love the idea of gingersnaps. I prefer to make my gingersnaps with pieces of candied ginger, which gives them an extra kick.

Good luck!

happy_stomach, brown rice sounds like a good choice - f you are in the mood you could cheat & just gussy it up with some peas or onions & almonds rather than make a pilaf (& I love almonds in brown rice). Sound like it will be a great dinner!

Roasted winter squash would be a good, seasonal pairing with pork and apples. For a pretty presentation, you could even serve the pork inside the squash halves.

Athena wrote:happy_stomach, brown rice sounds like a good choice - f you are in the mood you could cheat & just gussy it up with some peas or onions & almonds rather than make a pilaf (& I love almonds in brown rice).

You read my mind!

LAZ wrote:Roasted winter squash would be a good, seasonal pairing with pork and apples. For a pretty presentation, you could even serve the pork inside the squash halves.

This is an excellent idea, too. Unfortunately, I have to work with an oven that's not very reliable (door doesn't always close completely) and have a limited amount of time to prepare the entire meal, so I worry that roasting squash will be tricky.

MariaTheresa wrote:Hazelnut macaroons:

2 egg whites
100 grams superfine sugar
pinch of cinnamon
1-2 drops of almond extract (if desired)
175 grams ground hazelnuts

Beat egg whites until stiff, and slowly add in the sugar, cinnamon and extract (if you're using it). Gently fold in the nuts.

Place in spoonfuls on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Bake in a cool oven (275-300 degrees) for about 20 minutes. The time will depend on how large your macaroons are, so watch them carefully.

I should add, though, that I love the idea of gingersnaps. I prefer to make my gingersnaps with pieces of candied ginger, which gives them an extra kick.

Good luck!

Thank you for this. These sound lovely! They might require more delicacy in preparation than we have on hand for these meals, but if nothing else, I'll make them for myself at home!

Roasted root vegetables (for which I can dig up a killer recipe, if you're interested)

and/or

red cabbage (in a variety of different ways)

happy_stomach wrote:

LAZ wrote:Roasted winter squash would be a good, seasonal pairing with pork and apples. For a pretty presentation, you could even serve the pork inside the squash halves.

This is an excellent idea, too. Unfortunately, I have to work with an oven that's not very reliable (door doesn't always close completely) and have a limited amount of time to prepare the entire meal, so I worry that roasting squash will be tricky.

Squash cooks well in the microwave. In fact, I usually start it in the microwave even if I'm finishing it in the oven; cook whole large squash maybe 10 minutes the micro, then cut and clean out the seeds -- it speeds cooking and makes it easier to get a knife through. Also, it can be roasted ahead and reheated.

LAZ wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:

LAZ wrote:Roasted winter squash would be a good, seasonal pairing with pork and apples. For a pretty presentation, you could even serve the pork inside the squash halves.

This is an excellent idea, too. Unfortunately, I have to work with an oven that's not very reliable (door doesn't always close completely) and have a limited amount of time to prepare the entire meal, so I worry that roasting squash will be tricky.

Squash cooks well in the microwave. In fact, I usually start it in the microwave even if I'm finishing it in the oven; cook whole large squash maybe 10 minutes the micro, then cut and clean out the seeds -- it speeds cooking and makes it easier to get a knife through. Also, it can be roasted ahead and reheated.

Unfortunately, there's no microwave in the kitchen where I have to prepare this meal.

Hey, h_s, did I somehow miss how this went? What did you wind up doing?