Capricci with Diced Pork and Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce – Simple Balanced Meals

Please note, this is a paid collaboration with BritMums, Love Pork and The Scotch Kitchen. For more information, please see our Disclosure Policy.

The #SimpleBalancedMeals Campaign is sponsored by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) – the English, Welsh and Scottish levy bodies that between them cover all food groups in a balanced diet.

Simple balanced family meals are so important for all families. We have teamed up with BritMums, Love Pork and The Scotch Kitchen to bring you a delicious family recipe that uses simple ingredients and is easy to make at home with the kids. Our Tomato and Mascarpone sauce is really versatile. We know some ingredients are hard to find at the moment, so most of the ingredients are things you’ll have in your store cupboard and you can even swap out some of the ingredients for other items (for example, if you don’t have mascarpone, you can mix together cream cheese with a little cream; cream cheese mixed with cream and sour cream; or even make your own using cream and lemon juice – you can find versions online).

When teamed with a great, lean pork meat – like tenderloin, boneless loin chops or medallions – and some fresh vegetables, it makes a tasty balanced meal that the whole family will love.

Vitamin B12 and a Balanced Diet

Adults need around 1.5 micrograms of B12 a day, which can be found naturally in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. Amongst other things, vitamin B12 helps the nervous and immune systems work normally, as well as helping normal energy production, psychological function, red blood cell formation and helping reduce tiredness and fatigue.

Pork is a great choice for making sure your family has a well-balanced diet. Not only can some cuts of pork be lean, but it’s naturally rich in protein, low in salt and provides ten vitamins and minerals that contribute towards good health and wellbeing. Pork contains vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and zinc which can help the immune system to work normally.

Capricci with Diced Pork and Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 250g of Capricci pasta (or pasta of your choice)
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 500g lean diced pork topside
• grated cheese (optional)
• chopped parsley (optional)

Serve with the vegetables of your choice and garlic bread.

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan, then add the finely chopped onion and fry over medium-low heat for six minutes. Add the finely chopped garlic and fry for a further minute.

Pour in the can of tomatoes then put the stock cube in the empty can and fill it with boiling water. Stir this stock and add it to the pan. Season well with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Once the sauce is thick enough that stirring with a wooden spoon exposes the bottom of the pan and the sauce doesn’t immediately cover it, pour the sauce into a bowl or jug. If you have fussy eaters in the family, you might want to puree the sauce with a stick blender. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

Put the other tbsp of oil in the pan, over medium-high heat, then add the pork and fry until it is browned on all sides. Re-add the sauce and heat for a few minutes, then stir in the mascarpone until well combined. Stir in the pasta and toss well to make sure everything is well coated.

Serve, garnished with the chopped parsley and grated cheese.

A simple balanced meal for the whole family

Our Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta Sauce is so versatile – you can use it with different cuts of meat and whichever pasta is your preference. You can also make the sauce in bulk and freeze it for a later date, making it perfect for batch cooking.

Lean pork is also versatile – with a variety of cuts available – perfect for quick and easy balanced midweek meals.              

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also like:

Beef Fajitas with Honey and Garlic Sauce

Sweet Potato and Cider Soup

Apricot Risotto

Visit https://www.lovepork.co.uk/ and https://www.scotchkitchen.com/ for more delicious and simple balanced meals with pork!

The #SimpleBalancedMeals #CookingatHome campaign is sponsored by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) – the English, Welsh and Scottish levy bodies that between them cover all food groups in a healthy balanced diet.

For more information, please see our Disclosure Policy.