This is a stunning main dish meal that is easy to throw together and seems to elegant. Roast your pork tenderloin and then serve it with a decedent port and plum sauce.
They flavors of this dish are something that are very familiar to me growing up because both my mom and my grandmother, Madou, who died last month, would make this dish or some variation of it. I loved it because of the tangy sweet flavors. You’ll love it because Pork Tenderloin with Port and Dried Plums is a wow-zer meal that comes together in under an hour and makes you look like a super hero.
It starts with sweet, plump dried plums soaked in a cup of port wine and then reduced down to a sweet syrup — #doesntsuck!
While the prunes soak and simmer, prep the onions and apples. If you have larger potatoes, cut them into bite sized pieces, but if you have fingerling or Dutch Baby, potatoes, they can remain whole. I admit to having a weird vegetable crush on baby potatoes – don’t judge.
Season the pork and vegetables with a simple mix of fresh rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil and arrange them in a roasting pan with the pork resting on the vegetables. Roast at a high heat.
While the pork roasts, cook the prunes down until they’re so soft, they nearly fall apart. When the prune mixture has reduced, stir in a teaspoon of whole grain mustard and a pat of butter and stir until glossy, thick and so utterly jam-like that you want to lick it off the spoon. (I know, most people get excited about a designer handbag — I go ga-ga over a good sauce).
Transfer the pork and vegetables to a serving platter and dress them with the port sauce. This combination is like autumn on a plate, hearty, rich, flavorful and eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head-good.
Port and Plum Pork
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This is a stunning main dish meal that is easy to throw together and seems to elegant. Roast your pork tenderloin and then serve it with a decedent port and plum sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 1- pound pork tenderloin
- 2 granny smith apples peeled (seeded, sliced)
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 pound small potatoes such as fingerling (dutch baby, or waxy red or white potatoes)
- 1 1/4 cups pitted prunes
- 1 cup port wine
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper divided
- 2 teaspoons rosemary divided
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon whole grain dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine dried plums and port wine. Let sit for about an hour to plump the plums.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Place apple slices, onion, potatoes, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon pepper into a medium bowl. Using your hands, toss to coat evenly. Set aside.
- Place pork tenderloin into a roasting pan. Season with the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. Transfer the apple mixture to the roasting pan. Roast for about 18-20 minutes, stirring vegetables occasionally, until the pork is cooked to medium and onions and potatoes are cooked through and lightly browned.
- While pork is roasting, transfer plums and port to a small saucepan. Add the chicken broth. Heat over medium high heat to boiling. Lower the heat so the sauce is at an active simmer (some bubbling, but not a rolling boil) and reduce until liquid is about half and is syrupy. Remove from heat. Whisk in the mustard and butter until thick and glossy. Set aside.
- When roast is finished cooking, remove it from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Tent with tin foil and let the meat rest for about 5 minutes. Slice into half-inch pieces and transfer to a serving platter. Scatter the apples, potatoes and onions, and plums around the roast. Drizzle the port sauce over the roast to serve.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main
