Savouring the tastes of the harvest season
Quick and easy pork tenderloin is divinely tasty combined with autumn apples and onions
Pork tenderloin is one of the most economical cuts of meat, and is often underappreciated. This quick and easy recipe uses the tender, boneless cut in combination with apples and onions — a fine way to look forward to the fall harvest season.
It’s among the 75 recipes in 30-Minute Low-Carb Dinners (Page Street Publishing/Canadian Manda Group, $32.95), by Toronto blogger Valerie Azinge. It calls for two pans, but very little work.
Azinge, who blogs at mydigitalkitchen.ca and is also a dessert caterer, likes meat and fruit combinations; in another recipe, she adds peaches to pork. She demonstrates that if you bolster the fruit and vegetables in your cooking, you don’t miss the filling carbohydrates of potatoes, rice and pasta.
APPLE-ONION PORK TENDERLOIN
Serves: 4
2 tbsp (30 mL) avocado oil (substitute grapeseed, olive or coconut oil) 1 lb (454 g) pork tenderloin, cut in half crosswise 3 tbsp (45 mL) maple mustard (see note below) 2 medium red apples, unpeeled, thinly sliced 1 medium red onion, halved, thinly sliced 1/2 cup (125 mL) apple cider vinegar 1/4 tsp (1 mL) kosher or coarse salt 1/4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground pepper Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Place a heavy 12-inch (30-cm) frying pan over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of the oil and brown the pork for about 45 seconds a side.
Remove pan from heat and spread pork with maple mustard. Place pan in preheated oven and roast, uncovered, for 15 to 18 minutes.
Meanwhile, place another heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, and heat remaining 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of oil. Add apples and onion, followed by the vinegar, and bring to a boil.
Stir in salt and pepper, lower heat and simmer for about five minutes, until slightly tender.
Remove pan-roasted pork tenderloin from oven and let stand for a few minutes before slicing.
Serve with the apple and onion mixture, sprinkled with parsley.
For maple mustard: Buy readymade, or mix your own with 1/2 cup (125 mL) Dijon mustard and 1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup. It may be refrigerated, covered, for a few days, and used as a glaze on pork, chicken or veal.