Sticky pork steaks with coleslaw

Healthy-eating guru Justine Pattison is a genius at coming up with quick, tasty meals that are low in calories. Sticky pork steaks with coleslaw essentially involves the pork being coated with a barbecue glaze cleverly created by combining the ketchup, honey and Worcestershire sauce.

Fans of the Hairy Dieters (who Justine worked as a consultant on their early dieting books) will note that this recipe is very similar to the Hairy one’s Sticky chicken and coleslaw which you’ll find in their second book – Eat for Life. And if you’re really eagle-eyed, you’ll note that I decided to go with the Hairy Dieters’ home-made coleslaw recipe (white cabbage, carrot, spring onions, light mayo and natural yoghurt) instead of Justine’s as I’m not a fan of celeriac.

The pork steaks with the coleslaw is filling, but if you fancy a few home-made chips to go with it (it will add 119 calories) you can find the recipe in Justine’s Without the Calories – Comfort Food book.

Recipe: Sticky pork steaks with coleslaw

Calories: 327 calories per serving (pork and coleslaw), 446 calories (pork, coleslaw and oven-baked chips)

Serves: 4

Book: Justine Pattison, Without the Calories – Comfort Food

Prep time: Approx 10 mins

Cooking time: Approx 10 mins (or approx 30 mins if having oven-baked chips – see below)

Ingredients:

• 4 lean, pork steaks (each about 150g)
• Oil for spraying or brushing
• 6 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tbsp clear honey
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Flaked sea salt
• Ground black pepper

For the coleslaw:

• 150g celeriac
• 1 large carrot
• 6 spring onions
• 75g light mayonnaise
• 100 fat-free natural yoghurt
• Ground black pepper

Cost per portion: *Approx £1.72 (pork, coleslaw and oven-baked chips) *cost based on Tesco prices – December 2022

Method: To prepare the coleslaw, peel the celeriac and cut it into thin slices. Pile up the slices and cut through the stack to make long thin matchsticks. Put the matchsticks in a large bowl.

Peel and coarsely grate the carrot and thinly slice the spring onions. Add the carrot and spring onions to the celeriac. Spoon the mayonnaise and yoghurt on top, season with lots of black pepper and mix well together. Set aside.

Trim any visible fat from the pork steaks and season them with salt and pepper. Spray or brush a large non-stick frying pan with oil and place it over a medium heat. Cook the steaks for 5-8 minutes, depending on their thickness (turning to cook both sides evenly).

Mix the ketchup, honey and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Pour over the pork and continue cooking for a further 1-2 minutes on each side or until well coated in the sauce and sticky. Serve the pork with the coleslaw and oven-baked chips.

Oven-baked chips: Preheat the oven to 240 degrees C / Fan 220 degrees C / Gas 9. Half fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to the boil. Peel 600g medium potatoes and cut them into chips.

Carefully add the chips to the water and return to the boil. Parboil the chips for 4 minutes then drain well in a colander. While still in the colander, spray with oil and toss a few times until lightly coated.

Scatter over a large baking try and season with salt and black pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn them with a spatula. Spray with more oil and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Serves 4. Calories per serving: 119.