Pork Tenderloin with Date and Fig Chutney and Vegetable Saute
The fruity sweet and sour chutney is a perfect foil for the pork. The same recipe also works well with boned, skinned chicken breasts. The chutney can be made up to four days in advance. Reheat it in the pan in which the pork is sauteed and roasted, after pouring off the fat.
Ingredients
- Pork Tenderloins - 2 pounds (1 large or 2 small tenderloins)
- Clarified Butter - 4 tablespoons
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Cider Vinegar - 1 cup
- Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup
- Fresh or Dried dates - 10, halved and pitted
- Fresh Figs - 6 large, quartered or sliced (alt. 12 dried figs, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes)
- Vegetable Saute
- Yellow Bell Pepper - 1, seeded and deribbed
- Red Bell Pepper - 1, seeded and deribbed
- Green Bell Pepper - 1, seeded and deribbed
- Mushrooms - 1/2 pound, cleaned and sliced
- Clarified Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Thin Asparagus Spears - 1/2 pound, blanched and cut into 2-inch sections
- Fresh Purple or Green Basil - 2 tablespoons, chopped
- Fresh Figs - additional, for garnish
Instructions
To prepare the pork: Preheat the oven to 425 F. Trim the fat and silver skin from the pork tenderloin. Tuck the tail under so that the roast is a uniform thickness and tie with kitchen string.
Heat the clarified butter in an ovenproof saute pan or skillet over high heat. When hot, sear the tenderloin on all sides until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the preheated oven and roast, 10 minutes for small tenderloins and 20 minutes for a large one. Remove from the oven, place on a warmed plate, and keep warm.
To make the chutney: Pour the extra grease from the pan in which the pork was cooked. Place the pan over medium-high heat and deglaze with the vinegar, stirring up the glaze from the bottom (if preparing the chutney ahead of time, heat the vinegar in a saute pan or skillet). Slowly add the brown sugar, stirring to dissolve well, then add the dates and figs. Simmer slowly for 4 minutes, stirring frequently but gently. Set aside.
To make the vegetable saute: Cut the peppers into thin julienne. Heat the butter in a saute pan or skillet and add the vegetables, sauteing them over medium heat until they are cooked but still retain some crispness. Add the blanched asparagus and basil and cook for 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve: Slice the tenderloin diagonally into medallions. Put a bed of chutney on each plate. Arrange pork medallions over the chutney. Garnish with additional fig slices. Serve the vegetable saute separately.
