UntrainedChef

Pork Steaks with Fried Tomatoes and Cucumber Salad

30 min
2 portions

Quick weeknight dinner that's done before the potatoes finish boiling. Juicy pork, blistered cherry tomatoes, and a creamy cucumber salad — simple and solid.

Instructions

  1. 1

    Take the pork steaks out and let them come to room temperature on a plate. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. 2

    Use a vegetable peeler to peel most of the skin off the cucumber. Halve it lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut it into thin strips lengthways first, then chop into small pieces.

  3. 3

    Finely chop the shallot, garlic, and herbs.

  4. 4

    Mix all the cucumber salad ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

  5. 5

    Heat a frying pan and add the margarine. Once the foam settles, it's hot enough — lay in the pork steaks. Fry 2–3 minutes per side, then lower the heat and let them finish cooking for another 3–4 minutes. Toss in the cherry tomatoes for the last few minutes so they get a bit of colour.

Per average serving

0
Calories
kcal
0
Protein
g
0
Carbs
g
0
Fat
g
0g
Fiber
0g
Sugar
484mg
Sodium

Tips from the kitchen

  • The room temperature step matters more than it sounds. Cold pork straight from the fridge seizes up in the pan and cooks unevenly. Give it 15-20 minutes on the counter while you prep the cucumber salad.
  • When the margarine foam settles and goes quiet, that's your cue. Lay the steaks down and don't touch them for the full 2-3 minutes. Moving them around stops the crust from forming.
  • Scraping the seeds out of the cucumber isn't fussy, it's practical. The seeds hold a lot of water and will make the salad watery and loose within minutes. Takes 30 seconds with a spoon.
  • Add the cherry tomatoes when the steaks are almost done, not before. They only need 2-3 minutes to blister and soften. Leave them too long and they collapse into mush.
  • Let the pork rest on the plate for 5 minutes after cooking. Cut in too soon and the juices run straight out onto the board.

Ways to vary it

  • The sour cream in the cucumber salad can be swapped for plain yogurt if that's what you have. The texture is a little thinner but it works fine.
  • If you want more char on the tomatoes, pull the pork out to rest and crank the heat back up for the last minute. They blister faster on a hot pan without the meat taking up space.
  • Fresh dill works especially well as the herb here, but parsley or chives are both solid options depending on what's in the garden or the fridge.

Storage & leftovers

The pork and tomatoes keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in a sealed container. Keep the cucumber salad separate, it goes watery fast and doesn't hold well past day one. Reheat the pork in a covered pan on low heat with a small splash of water to keep it from drying out. Freezing the pork is fine, but skip freezing the salad entirely.

What to serve with it

Boiled potatoes are the obvious match and the recipe basically assumes them. A slice of rye bread on the side works too if you want something quicker.

UC
By Untrained ChefPublished 10 July 2026

Related Recipes

Honey-Fried Meatballs with Couscous - pork, dinner recipe

Honey-Fried Meatballs with Couscous

20 min

Honey, dried fruit, and cinnamon give these pork meatballs a warm, slightly exotic twist. Ready in under 20 minutes on a weeknight.

porkdinnerweeknight
Pork Chops with Pear and Red Cabbage - pork, quick recipe

Pork Chops with Pear and Red Cabbage

20 min

Ready in under 20 minutes and the pear makes it feel a bit special. Great weeknight dinner the whole family will eat.

porkquickweeknight
Smoked Pork Loin with Irish Mashed Potatoes - pork, dinner recipe

Smoked Pork Loin with Irish Mashed Potatoes

1 hr

Quick weeknight dinner that punches above its weight. The colcannon — mashed potatoes stirred through with blanched kale — makes it something special.

porkdinnerweeknight