Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Plum Sauce

This is a zingy, tart sauce with just a touch of sweetness to it, making it a good foil for the richness of the meat.  It's also quite a simple sauce, easily finished up while the meat rests after cooking.

I say to pit the prunes, but I was able to get some nice little damson plums, so I left the pits in as they are hard to remove. Since they are small pits they did not interfere too much with straining the sauce. If the pits are easy to take out though, it's better to do so right at the beginning.

I served it with a quinoa pilaf (without the rutabaga) and plain boiled broccoli. I've been making that quinoa pilaf quite a lot lately; it's lower carb than rice or pasta. We eat half of it hot at dinner then the rest gets made into a salad the next day.

4 servings
1 hour - 45 minutes prep time

2 cups diced pitted prune or damson plums
3 to 4 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons bacon fat OR mild vegetable oil
2 medium (about 500 grams/1 pound each) pork tenderloins
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Wash and chop the plums. Peel and chop the shallots. Peel and mince the garlic. Peel and grate the ginger.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. 

Heat the bacon fat or oil in a skillet or shallow casserole that can go from the stove top to the oven, over medium-high heat. Season the pork tenderloins with salt and pepper, and brown them on each side. When they are done, add the plums and shallots, and mix them in to coat them in the fat. Place the pork tenderloins on top of them, then put the pan in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.

Remove the tenderloins to a serving plate and cover them with foil. Leave to rest for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the skillet back on the stove over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger, and mix them in well for a minute, then add the chicken stock into which the starch has been stirred until completely dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring and scraping up the bits sticking to the pan until the plums have fallen apart and the sauce is thick. Press it firmly through a strainer into a bowl, discarding any solids.

Slice the pork and arrange it on the serving plate. Drizzle about half the sauce over it, and pass the remaining sauce in small pitcher or gravy boat.




Last year at this time I made Beet & Carrot Salad with Spicy Lemon Vinaigrette. 

Posted in: Ontario Food