Pork Tenderloin Judi

Tenderloin with Pears and Port

To me, cooking always seems to be a tussle between architect Mies van der Rohe's, "Less is more" and chef Pasquale Carpino's, "The more you put in, the more you find!" 

This was brought into focus at a recent luncheon with several friends. A beautiful Pear Salad was brought out for Judi. It featured a lovely pear standing upright in the center of greens. Later in the meal, Judi offered me a taste of the pear. (Now here I should confess that this pear was probably very good in the salad setting.) Unfortunately, when my brain processed the impressively tinted centerpiece pear, it expected a softly subtle flavor, perhaps hinting of a fine Port. Instead, the pear seemed to have been marinated in a harsh salad dressing with a myriad of confusing and overwhelming spices! I smiled and said something like, "Hmmm, very interesting, I can't seem to identify the flavoring." (Sorry, Judi. I always try to be polite.) My impolite interior voice was screaming, "WTF, how could anyone do this to a pear!" Because pears are among my very favorite fruits, I probably am just a touch overprotective! At that very moment, I decided to place a properly braised pear into an affable meal and name it for Judi, who deserved a better pear!

We are going to put a slightly pungent rub on a pork tenderloin and roast it with sautéed vegetables and a very little liquid in the pan, almost braising it. Meanwhile we are going to braise a pear in Port and very little else. Then, while the meat rests, we are going to combine the liquids and cook them down into a thin syrup and spoon over the pork, vegetables and pears. I have some homemade beef stock on hand, so I will use that as my liquid.

Douro Valley, Portugal

When I was younger, Port always conjured up visions of a Wino sitting in a gutter and drinking from a bottle in a paper bag. That was well before I really learned of Port. If you are unfamiliar with the pleasures of a fine Port, you are in for a grand discovery.  Port, or Porto, is a fortified, slightly sweetish wine, only from the Douro Valley in Portugal. Other wines, most sickeningly sweet and cloying, from all over the world, are sometimes called Port. Stay away from these. 

Vintage Porto is only made in certain years (when the stars and grapes align). For this meal I'm using a rather recent Vintage Porto. You could cellar this wine for a lot longer than I have left to live, so I'm drinking it now! It is very good and not overly expensive. A good Porto can be very expensive. Sip on this in the evening while watching 8½ and experience The Good Life.

Equipment:

You will need a large sauté pan for the vegetables, a medium, shallow roasting pan for the meat, and a small sauce pan, just wide enough to hold a pear.

Ingredients:

Raw Ingredients

For the Pork

1 Pork Tenderloin

2 large Mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 small Onion, diced

1 clove Garlic, minced

4 to 6 oz. Cauliflower broken into small florets

¼ cup Old Bay^™ *

splash of Port

½ cup of stock or water

2 Tbs. Butter

1 Tbs. Olive Oil

salt and pepper to taste

For the Pear

1 Bosc Pear, not too ripe

Everything Prepped

¼ cup stock or water

1 tsp Brown Sugar

½ cup quality Porto

¼ tsp Lemon Zest

1 small Cinnamon stick

pinch salt

* you can rub the tenderloin with anything you prefer. I am choosing not to use certain spices that I would normally, such as cinnamon, because in this meal, it is already in the Pear Sauce and so there would be an over-abundance of this flavor if it were on the Pork too. We want a contrast here.

Method:

1 Rub meat with Old Bay^™ seasoning. Preheat oven to 375^o.

2 Sauté Mushrooms in the Butter and Oil until they start to color, then add Cauliflower, Onions, Garlic, salt & pepper and sauté for a couple minutes more. 

Saute Vegetables

Add a splash of Porto and ½ cup Stock. Bring to a simmer and pour into shallow roasting pan. Place tenderloin on top. 

Ready for the Oven

Roast for about 20 minutes, then turn the Pork, also turn cauliflower and add a little more liquid if needed. Check again after 10 more minutes: you want a small amount of liquid to be always in the pan, but not too much. Total roasting time is about 40 minutes. Pork should be 160^o . Try not to overcook this cut.

3 Meanwhile, peel Pear and slice into quarters lengthwise, remove stem and core area. Bring stock to boil in small sauce pan dissolving Brown Sugar, then add Port, Cinnamon stick, Lemon Zest and pinch of salt and bring to the edge of a boil, add pear slices and reduce heat. 

Braising Pears

Simmer until Pear just yields to a fork. A Bosc Pear, depending on its ripeness,  will hold up to probably 15 minutes of braising. A Bartlett will tend to cook fast, so watch these carefully. You don't want pear mush. Turn Pears a few times to color all sides. When Pear is ready, remove and reserve. Discard Cinnamon Stick but keep cooking liquid simmering.

4 When Pork is finished, remove it and the Mushrooms and Cauliflower to a plate with the Pear, cover with foil and keep warm for about 5 minutes.

5 Strain remaining juices from roasting pan into the simmering Pear braising liquid and reduce this sauce over high heat until it is the consistency of a thin syrup, correct seasoning.

6 Slice the tenderloin into medallions, surround with Pears and Vegetables and spoon sauce over meat and Pears. Serve with a soft wine. I've chosen the 2007 Masi Ripasso Veronese, a good food-friendly wine: smooth and simple on the palate!

Served here with home-pureed Butternut Squash