Insisted on the courses being reversed (8)
I believe the answer is:
stressed
'insisted' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'the courses being reversed' is the wordplay.
'the courses' becomes 'desserts' (dessert is a kind of course).
'being reversed' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'desserts' backwards is 'STRESSED'.
'on' is the link.
(Other definitions for stressed that I've seen before include "overwrought" , "Singled out as important" , "Flustery" , "Insisted" , "Emphasized or strained" .)