Before I share the recipe, I’ll just say it: I’m not wild about pork tenderloin. It’s good, of course. It’s fine. But in my experience, it usually needs…something. Lots of something. Seasoning. Marinade. Sauce. Glaze. The flavor of pork tenderloin itself is rather neutral, so it begs for lots of adornments.
Enter: this recipe, which is hardly a recipe at all. Just a quick little throw-together dish that looks like you spent way more time on it than you did.
(This was/is a possible cookbook recipe, so the recipe is lighter on step-by-step photos than usual.)
(I just heard you thank me.)
Salt and pepper two pork tenderloins. They need flavor, so be somewhat liberal.
Look at how lovely this is. Herbs de Provence with lovely little bits of lavender.
It’s like a lovely trip to France. Well, except for the whole being-in-France part.
Details, details.
Sprinkle the herbs over the pork, rolling it around to get as much on the outside as you can.
Place it on a roasting rack and into the oven and roast the pork in a preheated 425 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, then remove it from the oven and let it rest for ten minutes or so.
While the pork is resting, throw some preserves (these are fig, but you can do peach, plum…anything!) and a tiny splash of vinegar into a small pan or skillet. Add some water (the same amount as the preserves) and stir it around to heat it up. Remove it from the heat and set it aside aside.
Slice the pork into pieces. The herbs look so pretty!Then arrange it on a plate with whatever side dish you’d like: mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, grits, or the roasted vegetables I posted yesterday. (Psst: I also have another thing underneath the pork that I’ll share soon. See if you can guess what it is.)
This was really, really yummy. The herbs de Provence were just wonderful, and the preserves added a really nice (and much-needed) sweetness. A very uncomplicated, anyone-can-make-it plateful of wonderfulness, with lots of room for improvising and substituting.
And it took, like, twenty minutes.
Score. A direct hit.
Recipe
Herb Roated Pork Tenderloin with Preserves
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Difficulty:
- Easy
- Servings:
- 12
Ingredients
- 2 whole Pork Tenderloins
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
- 8 Tablespoons Herbes De Provence, Or More If Needed
- 1 cup Preserves (fig, Peach, Plum)
- 1 cup Water
- 1 Tablespoon Vinegar
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 425. Season pork tenderloins liberally with salt and pepper, then with Herbs de Provence, pressing to get the herbs to adhere to the pork.
Place the pork on a rack or in a large skillet and roast in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes (or until no longer pink). Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.
While the pork is resting, combine preserves, water, and vinegar in a small pan and bring to a simmer.
Slice pork into thick pieces, then spoon the sauce/glaze over the slices. Serve with mashed potatoes, grits...anything you'd like!
