As I may have mentioned, I am a picky eater. I am just now reintroducing pork into my repertoire, which is a big step for me as I still won't go near ham or bacon. Pork tenderloin was on sale at Kroger a few weeks back for $1.99/lb, so I picked one up for the freezer and decided I would try my hand at it.
Clockwise, you have the Roasted Pork Tenderloin, the Apple Cider Risotto, some roasted apples and onions, and some broccoli (I decided I needed something green). The pork is drizzled with a balsamic reduction.
The original recipe from which I started, courtesy of Martha Stewart here, called for the reduction to be used as a glaze. I'm sure that would be delicious, but I intended to repurpose half of the half loin and did not want the balsamic flavoring if I turn it into a BBQ pork sandwich (as a single person, I cannot eat 4 pounds of roasted tenderloin without getting totally bored, no matter how amazing it is). I ended up slicing about half of it to go with the risotto, and I put the other half in the freezer to be repurposed at a later date.
The risotto recipe was actually inspired by another lovely cooking blog, How Sweet It is, where she posted a beer risotto last month. I, unfortunately, do not care for beer, but immediately thought of doing an apple risotto with hard cider instead of beer. The result was absolutely delicious, and I imagine that if one loves bacon (sadly, I do not), a little bacon or pancetta crumbled in would make it even better.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions
Glaze (or drizzled topping):
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. maple syrup
Pork Tenderloin:
Salt and Pepper
1 4lb boneless half pork loin
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium apples (look for a tart, baking apple)
1 large sweet onion
Preheat the oven to 450F. I covered my pork loin liberally with salt and pepper and placed it on a rack in a roasting pan. Peel and core the apples, and then slice them into 8 wedges each. Slice the onions vertically so that you get strips approximately 1/2 inch wide. Toss the apples and onions with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place them in a jellyroll pan.
I put the apple/onion mixture and the pork loin into the oven at the same time. I cook my meat by temperature, rather than by time. I took the apples and onions out after about 15 minutes, and put them in for the last 10 minutes or so, until they were golden brown. I cooked the pork until it hit 160F and then let it rest for 10 minutes after removing it from the oven. I think it took about an hour, but that probably depends on the size of your cut of meat and how well your oven heats. I probably overcooked my meat, but I'm one of those crazy people who eats even filet mignon butterflied and well.
While the pork and vegetables were cooking, I combined the balsamic and maple syrup in a small saucepan and boiled them together, stirring frequently, until they had reduced by about half. I then let the syrup cool and drizzled it over the sliced meat. Warning: make sure to hold your breath and look away from the reduction (or close your eyes) while stirring. Vinegar fumes singe the eyes and nose, as I learned the hard way. Put it on a back burner and turn on the range fan.
Also while all of this was going on, I started my risotto, which finished right before the pork came out.
Apple Cider Risotto
2 Tbs. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 c. arborio rice
1 large tart cooking apple, finely diced
1 Tbs. lemon juice (to prevent browning)
1 large sweet onion, finely diced
12 oz. hard cider (I used Hornsby's since it was in the fridge, but any will probably do as long as you like to drink it)
3 c. chicken stock (by which I cheated and used 3 c. of boiling water mixed with two chicken bouillon cubes) (you could also use vegetable if you wanted to do a vegetarian version)
1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Pour oil in a large, deep skillet and heat over medium heat until sprinkled water dances across the surface. Add in the garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring to prevent burning. Add in the rice, and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly so that the rice gets thoroughly coated with the oil. Add in your apple mixed with the lemon juice and onion, and cook for another 2 minutes or so, until the juice has been cooked out.
Pour in the cider in thirds, waiting until all of the liquid is absorbed before adding more, stirring very frequently. Continue adding chicken stock by the half cup, waiting until each pour is nearly completely absorbed before adding more and continuing to stir frequently. At this point it becomes more of an art than a science. Taste test to see if the rice is pleasantly chewy or if it's still crunchy (one is done, the other is not). You may need more or less liquid; I actually ended up adding a 1/4 c. of water at the end because my rice was just a little too firm for my taste by the time I'd used up all of my stock.
Once the rice is to your preferred texture, stir in the parmesan and salt and pepper. Like I mentioned before, I imagine that if one liked bacon, this would be delicious with some bacon crumbled in.
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