This is a great no fuss dinner to enjoy with friends or family this fall. You can throw dinner in the oven, sit back, talk, enjoy a few ciders or some pumpkin ale, play with the cutest baby ever… Then dish it all up and let everyone dig in!
Everything came out of the oven at the same time, looking golden and crispy, and smelling divine. We steamed some broccoli to go along with it all, and it was a wonderful and easy dinner. Especially with two cooks in the kitchen (Hi Cheryl!). I loved the combination of roasted apples and squash, which I think would be stellar with a roast chicken as well. And the tender, moist pork tenderloin has converted many a non-pork fan (including myself). I will deffinitely be making this again.
When you’ve licked every last drop of the golden honey dijon sauce from your plate… pour everyone a steaming cup of hot cocoa, move to the sofa, and curl up with a cozy blanket and a good movie.
I can’t think of a better way to pass a cold autumn night.
The dishes can wait.
Honey Dijon Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Feel free to substitute the preserves for whatever fruit preserves or jam you have on hand. I used some fabulous peach preserves we picked up in the Okanagan last summer, I think marmalade would be great too. And to be honest, I adjusted the flavouring of the marinade to taste, adding a little more honey here, a little mustard there. We prefer it sweeter as we aren’t huge fans of mustard. Use these proportions as a guideline and modify as your tongue dictates. That’s what its all about.
Ingredients
2 Pork tenderloins (about 3 pounds)
1/2 Cup liquid honey
1/2 Cup peach preserves
¼ Cup Dijon mustard
2 Tsp. Apple cider vinegar
1. Combine the honey, preserves, mustard, and vinegar in a bowl and whisk well. Set the pork tenderloins in a dish or tupperware container and pour 2/3 of the marinade over top, saving the remaining sauce for later.
2. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour . I am sure you could prep this the day before and let it marinate overnight as well.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a pan with foil, lightly grease the foil so that the pork doesn’t stick. Place both tenderloins side by side on the pan and roast for 40 – 50 minutes. You can check for doneness with a meat thermometer, or just cut into it to check that it is not pink in the center. Pork Is done when it has reached an internal temperature of 145 °F.
4. Allow the pork to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Just before serving, warm the remaining marinade in a small pan or in the microwave for a few seconds. Drizzle over top of sliced pork.
Roasted Potatoes with Apples, Squash, and Thyme
I used pearl onions in this dish because I had them left over from another recipe. They got all nice and caramelized and were lovely, but they are a bit of work. Next time I make this, I will simply chop up a red onion and roast it along with everything else.
Ingredients
½ bag pearl onion, blanched and peeled OR substitute 1 red onion, chopped
About 2 pounds red new potatoes, quartered
3 Apples (I used gala), cubed
½ Butternut squash (or squash of your choosing), peeled, seeds removed, and cubed
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled
Extra virgin olive oil
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1. If you are using the pearl onions: Bring a pot of water to a rapid boil, add the onions to the pot (skins on) and continue to boil for about 3 minutes. Drain the water off and immediately cover the onions with very cold water. At this point you should be able to pinch an onion at the root and have it easily slip out of the skin, continue until all the mushrooms are peeled.
2. Chop up the potatoes, squash, and apples into similarly sized cubes. Combine everything on a baking sheet (or split across 2 sheets, as we did). Add the onions and whole garlic cloves to each pan. Drizzle everything with a generous amount of olive oil. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and some course sea salt, then toss everything around on the pan to coat it well. Tuck a few sprigs of thyme in and around the vegetables.
3. Roast the vegetables right alongside the pork tenderloin, at 350 degrees for 40 – 50 minutes. Turning once about half way through.
Oh, and be sure to pick out any thyme twigs before serving. Or your guests will accuse you of trying to feed them twigs like mine did.
Maia, your blog is great. The pics look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI think it is hard to go wrong with those pork tenderloins - other than overcooking - but the honey/fruit/dijon flavours in your recipe just sound right. My first choice for pork tenderloins is a brine, but will try your recipe next time...
The potatoes also look really pretty on that red squarish serving dish. I bet using lard and some bacon instead of olive oil would pair better with the tenderloins (seeing how you sound more open to pork!)