No offense to my vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian friends and followers....but I love meat! My blog so far has really focused on the fruits of the field so I wanted to throw out a meat dish for those of us who do enjoy our carnivore status in this life. I'm really not TOO choosy when it comes to the protein of choice – chicken, pork, turkey, beef, venison (tenderloin only), lamb (chops only), etc. This is one of our favorite quick meals during the week, especially when you've had “one of those days” and just want to slap something quick, but yummy, together.
Today's recipe topic – Pork Tenderloin with Herb Marinade
INGREDIENTS:
Pork Tenderloin (normally 2 to a package)
Olive Oil
Herbs (your choice: rosemary, thyme, chives, basil, parsley, etc.)
Salt/Pepper
Garlic cloves (3-4)
PREP PORK:
Remove the tenderloin from their package and rinse, pat dry with paper towel. There is some membrane on the outside of the tenderloin, called silverskin, that you should remove. Use a sharp knife and separate the end of the silverskin and take hold – pull up a bit and run the knife closest to the silverskin and remove. Repeat as necessary.
MARINADE:
In a blender put ½ cup olive oil, 3-4 cloves of garlic and 1/4-1/2 cup of your herbs of choice, fresh of course. Add about a Tablespoon of salt and Tablespoon of ground pepper and blend well.
Place the marinade in a large ziplock bag and add tenderloins. Seal and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can leave marinating overnight to be ready for dinner the next day!
COOKING:
Step One: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Step Two: Sear the tenderloins. This can be done on your gas grill on your stove top. If using the grill put all burners on high for 15 min prior to searing the meat. Using your stove top use an aluminum or cast iron pan that is heated on med-high for a couple min (till a drop of water dances to evaporation quickly) add a little peanut or olive oil right before adding your meat.
Sear the meat rotating just till each side becomes golden brown and carmelized.
Step Three: Move seared meat to a cookie sheet (unless you seared in an oven safe skillet) and place in oven for 20 min. Remove and allow to rest for 10 minutes loosely covered with aluminum foil on a cutting board.
Step Four: When rested, with a sharp knife slice thinly on the bias and serve!
While this pork recipe is great all on its own with a couple of side dishes we like to pair it with a fresh fruit chutney, based on the season of course. It is a simple preparation with big reward in flavor!
Cherry Chutney
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and roughly chopped in large pieces
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup cran-raisins
2 tablespoon minced candied ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon each ground allspice, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and cinnamon
HOW TO:
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil covered for 3 min then reduce heat and allow to simmer uncovered till thickened...about 15-30 minutes – make sure you stir regularly during this time. Let cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator till ready to use. Serve at room temperature!
This is great with pork, chicken and can be used as a topping for brie, crackers or even pizza!
Enjoy!!
Cheryl
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