Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Wine Sauce
An unexpected visitor arrived on Monday morning. He must have arrived in the dark of night, undetected by all of us, even the dog. The only clue we had to his presence was a book left on the kitchen table. My children stumbled down to…
An unexpected visitor arrived on Monday morning. He must have arrived in the dark of night, undetected by all of us, even the dog. The only clue we had to his presence was a book left on the kitchen table.
My children stumbled down to breakfast and their sleepy eyes grew wide. Mommy! An elf! We have an elf on the shelf! We have to find him! Snowflake, as he was named, has never been to our house before. And yet, there he was, on the mantel, making himself comfortable amongst the branches of garland.
His presence has stimulated many questions, as you can imagine. Why doesn’t he blink? This puzzled my son the most, until I explained that Snowflake has probably been instructed to be perfectly still when he and his sister are around. But my son thought he could outsmart him. That first afternoon, I found him doing quick double takes over his shoulder. Did you catch him? Did he blink? I asked.
Yes, my son nodded confidently, with a satisfied smirk.
Perhaps he’s right. As I was cooking that afternoon, it was a little odd knowing that there was, indeed, an elf watching carefully. Did he spy the cranberries that I blitzed into a paste with garlic and jalapeño? Could he see the deep color it imparted on the pork tenderloin browning in the pan? And smell the inky Pinot Noir deglazing the rich tidbits as it bubbled in the oven?
If so, I wouldn’t be surprised if he told the big guy himself when he returned to the North Pole that evening. He probably even snuck a bite.
Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Wine Sauce
This dish came about as I was trying to use up some of fresh cranberries - simple enough for a weeknight meal, this roast pork tenderloin has enough gusto to be a serious dinner party main course. The cranberries' natural tartness lends a nice acidity to the pork, which is rounded out by a little heat from jalapeno and an earthy sauce from a good glug of pinot noir.
Ingredients
6 garlic cloves
1 jalapeño, seeded
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 scallions
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pork tenderloins (about 1¼ pounds each)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup red wine, such as a pinot noir
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In the bowl of a food processor, place the garlic and jalapeño, and puree to a fine mince. Add the cranberries and scallions and mince again. Add the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil, and blend to a paste. Slather the pork tenderloins with the cranberry paste and if you have time, allow to marinate for some time (up to overnight in the refrigerator.)
Heat canola oil in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add pork, and brown all over, about 4 minutes. Pour the red wine and any remaining marinade into the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
Transfer pan to oven. Roast pork uncovered, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, and try to let it rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with the remaining pan sauce.
Comments
COOKBOOK
Oh, also we don’t have jalenpeno in general Australian supermarkets similar subbed a whole green chile for a half batch … I also found our tenderloins quite small, but at $27 a kg I admit I picked out the smallest one there :) for $9.20 it served 2 of us nicely, not sure if that means we ate 1.5 serves each??
After a very long time I finally made this last night and it was to die for!! I can’t wait until a reasonable amount of time has passed so I can make it again ><!!
The leftover sauce was reinvented into a lovely one dish meal, used to coat and cook some turkey mince and folded through the leftover rice salad from http://givemeflour.com/?p=2098 which is similar to yours but I subbed those pomegranate seeds to match your cranberries :D
Thankyou so much!!
This looks absolutely amazing! Is it possible to post the recipe for the rice salad at all too? :) thankyou :3
Hi Ellen! I am working on that – should have a post for the rice soon!
Ellen, the rice recipe is finally up! Enjoy (and thank you for your patience with the request):
Wild & Brown Rice with Black Beluga Lentils
http://kitchenconfidante.com/wild-and-brown-rice-with-black-beluga-lentils-recipe
I saw this post and I thought I’d already made a comment…sorry, I must have drooled and died on the spot, Liren! This is such a beautiful, heartwarming pork roast. Your photos are unbelievable, as well!
Beautiful pork tenderloin and so festive!
Hey Liren, your Tenderloin with Sauce is a Recipe Guessing Game on Knapkins. Think your friends can win? http://www.knapkins.com/guess_games/1053?source=blog
Show your foodie love and vote here
http://www.knapkins.com/duel?dish=15698
If I were the elf, I’d have knicked the whole plate! Wowsa. Your presentation is stunning and the food sounds amazing!
Buzzed :)
Liren, I now know what I am making for dinner on Sunday. :) As always, your photos are beautiful!
I hope you like it, Mary! Thank you, thank you for your sweet comments – have a wonderful weekend!
Liren, your photography is amazing. The main photo of the finished plate is magazine-worthy. And it sounds like a heavenly meal. I just happen to have a bag of fresh cranberries in the fridge….
Aw, gee, MJ, thank you so much. That means so much to me! Hoping you have a wonderful weekend ahead :)
Wow this is beautiful. Must be a great combination of flavors. Thanks for a great recipe
Mmm, this looks wonderful! Your sauce is so inspired, Liren. A perfect meal to enjoy anytime.
Hope you’re having a great week!
The elf!! =) Oh, it must be the holidays – this is a perfect Christmas meal!
I want to make pork tenderloin for a Christmas dinner next weekend — how much more time would you think I need to give pork if I do six tenderloins? 20 more minutes oven time? (The cranberry sauce is a definite!)
Hi! Baking time would not change, but you would probably want to prepare it in a large roasting pan. Just make sure you get tenderloins that are about equivalent in size/girth!
This pork tenderloin is BEAUTIFUL — so worthy of a holiday meal :) And I’m glad your little ones are already having fun with the season!!