Don’t be afraid to mix your salad and your dessert into your main course.

This juicy creation boasts vitamins and fiber from the addition of cherries, sweet potato puree and arugula. Adding fruit and veggies to ground meat will produce a juicer dish with complex flavors and more nutrition.

In addition to the cherries inside the pork loaf,  I sliced some persimmon to bake on top. Despite the added fruit this dish wasn’t too sweet as the cherries were tart.

I served the loaf with mashed sweet potatoes on top. Like a savory frosting for a protein-packed cake.

Ingredients

1 pound of organic ground pork

1/2 cup of tart frozen and pitted cherries (defrosted)

1 cup of arugula, sauteed

Spices: 1/4 teaspoon each of smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, tumeric and salt

1/4 cup of sweet potato puree to put inside and 1/2 cup more to spread on top

A few slices of raw persimmon or other fruit to bake on top (pineapple or apple will work)

One egg

How to

Defrost the cherries and mash with a fork

Saute arugula in olive oil, squeeze excess water out by draining arugala in a colander or putting it in a dish or paper towel and squeezing the water out.

Preheat oven to 360 degrees

Mix spices, egg, cherries, sweet potato puree, pork and sauteed arugula in a bowl. I like to use my hands to do the mixing but a fork or spoon would also work.

Transfer the meat mixture into a loaf pan. You can either grease the pan with coconut oil, duck fat or butter or line it with high heat parchment paper.

Put fruit slices on top.

Bake at 360 degrees for 40 minutes.

Let cool, and top with mashed sweet potato topping.

Enjoy.