Happy Labor Day, DNCWWO fans! Continuing on with my mission to waste less food, I had several packages of fresh herbs in my fridge that I wanted to use before they went bad. On a side note, I've heard that you can freeze fresh herbs, but even following the directions, I've never been successful at this.
My protein choices were chicken breasts (which we had had the night before), mahi mahi fillets, and a pound of pork tenderloin. My mind immediately jumped to herbed pork tenderloin, and it was off to the Googles to find some recipes.
I settled on this one from The Kitchn, because it seemed simple enough, I had all the ingredients on hand (or could easily substitute) and the pan sauce would use up the remainder of the white wine in my fridge. Double score!
It was very easy to throw together, thanks to my mini food processor, and was ready in under 30 minutes. We enjoyed the pork, which turned out quite moist and delicious (which gave my ego a bit of a boost, because pork tenderloin tends to be a leaner cut of meat, which dries out quickly). The Mister ate his portion, as well as the leftovers.
Herbed Pork Tenderloin
Slightly adapted from The Kitchn
Serves 2 with a little left over
Ingredients
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh marjoram
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- Zest of half a lemon
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 lb pork tenderloin
Directions
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Strip the leaves from the sprig of rosemary and the sprigs of marjoram. Place in the bowl of a mini food processor. Discard the stalks.
- Add the garlic cloves, the lemon zest to the bowl, and a quarter of the olive oil and pulse until the garlic gets roughly chopped. Add another quarter of the olive oil, and process another 10 to 20 seconds, add another quarter of the oil, process, then add the remaining oil, and process. (If your mini food processor has a spout to stream in the oil while processing, you can do that instead — mine does not have that option).
- Spray a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and place the tenderloin in the pan.
- Scrape the herb mixture out of the food processor, and rub all over the pork tenderloin.
- Place the pan in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes.
- Use tongs to turn the tenderloin over, and bake another 8 to 10 minutes.
- Pull the pan out of the oven and remove the pork to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm.
- Pour the pan drippings into a skillet, scraping out as many stuck bits of pork with a wooden spoon, and add the white wine and chicken stock to the skillet. Gently whisk to combine.
- Warm the skillet over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook at a simmer for about 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced and turned brown.
- Slice the pork into 1-inch thick medallions, and serve with pan sauce.