Simple or fancy, tenderloin fits the bill
Choice pork cut is lean and moist, cooks quickly and pairs well with savoury accents
I never tire of cooking lessons, and a class I took in Vancouver several years ago with French-born teacher Lydie Marshall yielded an elegant recipe for pork tenderloin in a citrusy red currant sauce that I still enjoy serving to guests.
Now retired, Lydie taught French cooking for 50 years in France and New York, where the legendary food writer Mimi Sheraton considered her school one of the best.
Lydie and I hit it off, and I reached out to her when planning my next trip to New York. On her recommendation, I booked a room at a reasonably priced B&B across the street from her Greenwich Village townhouse.
Lydie’s tenderloin recipe is a bit involved, so I’ve paired it here with a simple one-pan dish that combines pork with parsnips, sweet potatoes and watercress. Bon appétit!
ROAST PORK TENDERLOIN WITH RED CURRANT SAUCE
Here is my adaptation of Lydie Marshall’s splendid recipe. This hard-to-beat combination of juicy pork and rich currant sauce is perfect for special guests.
Place tenderloins in a non-aluminum baking pan in a large, a self-sealing plastic bag. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over pork. Seal bag, pressing out air, and refrigerate pork 6 hours, turning it several times. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190 C). Remove the pork from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Strain and reserve marinade.
Heat the oil in a large castiron skillet over medium-high until it’s about to smoke. And the tenderloins and quickly sear on both sides, turning with tongs. Place pan in oven and roast pork until it reaches 140°145° F (63 C) on an instantread thermometer, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté shallots 1 minute. Add reserved marinade and simmer until reduced to about 3 tbsp. (45 mL). Add stock and reduce to 1 cup (250 mL). Whisk in currant jelly until melted. Crumble the butter-flour mixture into the hot sauce, whisking constantly until sauce is blended and thickened. Taste and correct seasoning, adding a few drops of lemon juice if desired. Cover and keep warm.
Transfer the roasted pork to a carving board and let it rest 5 minutes. Cut it into 1/2inch slices. Spoon a little sauce over them and serve at once with the remaining sauce on the side.
PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PARSNIPS AND SWEET POTATOES Easy enough for week nights yet impressive enough for company, this tenderloin is coated with brown sugar and cayenne and served with gingery vegetables and peppery greens. (Adapted from One Pot: 120+ Easy Meals from Your Skillet, Slow Cooker, Stockpot and More by the editors of Martha Stewart Living, Clarkson Potter, 2014.)
Preheat oven to 475°F (245 C). Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven (see Kitchen Hack).
Toss sweet potato, parsnips, and ginger with oil and set aside. Mix brown sugar with cayenne and rub all over pork.
Using tongs, carefully place pork and vegetables on hot baking sheet in an even layer. Season with salt. Roast until meat reaches 140°F to 145°F (63 C) on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 22 minutes. Let pork rest 5 minutes.
Toss vegetables with watercress, adding oil and salt as needed. Slice pork and top with any accumulated juices from the pan.
Serve meat and salad with lime wedges on the side.
Serves: 4-6
4 pork tenderloins, 2-3 lb. (1-1.5 kg) total
1 tbsp. (15 mL) olive oil
Marinade
2 medium onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 tsp (5 mL) minced fresh ginger
½ tsp (2.5 mL) ground cardamom
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
½ tsp (2.5 mL) ground coriander
1½ tsp (7 mL) dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 2 oranges
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sauce
2 tbsp. (30 mL) butter
1 tsp (5 mL) olive oil
2 tbsp. (30 mL) minced shallot
1 ½ cups (375 mL) chicken stock
½ cup (125 mL) red currant jelly
2 tbsp. (30 mL) butter blended with 2 tbsp. (2 mL) flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Lemon juice (optional)
Serves: 1 large sweet 4 potato, peeled, halved and sliced ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick
3 large parsnips, halved in cut into 2 inch (5 cm) pieces
1 tbsp. (30 mL) finely grated peeled fresh ginger
3 tbsp. (90 mL) olive oil, plus more for serving
2 tbsp. (30 mL) brown sugar
¼ tsp (1 mL) cayenne
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 ½ lb., 680 g), trimmed of excess fat and silver skin
Coarse salt
1 bunch watercress, trimmed
Lime wedges, for serving