Fresh Orange Pork Tenderloin

I finally found pork tenderloin just in time to make this recipe. This year the FFWD group has put me to the test, and I have to admit I didn´t quite pass.

I couldn´t find chicken livers, and after looking for them in two butcher shops, I decided not to make the chicken liver gateaux, which I regret since I love chicken liver pate. Then the cellophane noodles and shrimp were not happening given that I don´t like shrimp and those slimy noodles by themselves, well, not appealing at all.

So I started this month with the eagerness of the guilty, only to find out that, apparently, brussels sprouts are not easy to find in summer. I say apparently because I know the guys at the shops will say anything to stop me from starting to ask for details. And this time I went to no less than five places, not a single sprout in sight. So the brussels sprouts with butternut squash didn´t happen, and I was really looking forward to them also.

So when I went to the supermarket last Saturday and couldn´t find pork tenderloins, something they always have, I became suspicious. Could it be that I was being tested? See what you come up with in-the-middle-of-the-summer-when-most-of-us-are-freezing kind of test? 

So I went to another shop on Monday and they were closed. Back to the supermarket on Tuesday and still no pork. I went back again yesterday and bought three trays, that´s 6 pork tenderloins which will be frozen along with different berries that I stashed to make it through my winter/most of you people´s summer, just in case. I will not fail a pork tenderloin test again. Or a berry one I assume.

The recipe itself was good. Not great. Not deserving of an exclamation point except for the fact that it´s a very lean dish. The 1 tablespoon of butter can be avoided, and the rest is just oranges, pork tenderloin and green onions. That is, unless you eat it with a bowl of buttery mashed potatoes.

The pork tenderloin is cut into portions, seared in a tablespoon of butter and some oil, and then orange juice, zest, green onions and cardamom are added and, after cooking for ten minutes, some orange segments go into the skillet and you´re done. Very easy.

I had read Susan´s comments before making this, one of the perks of cooking at the last minute. She found it bland. So with that in mind I added quite a lot of black pepper. And I left it uncovered after adding the orange juice. That way it reduced as much as it could, thickened a bit and I even managed to get it scorched in some parts, which was a good thing since it added some flavor. But not a whole lot. So cooking it covered, as the instrutions said, doesn´t strike me as a good idea. 

In the end I also cooked it about half the time it said, because one thing I do.not.like.at.all is overdone pork or beef. Unless it´s braised, which this was clearly not.

As is, the best part of this recipe was cutting the oranges in segments, which is a neat thing to do for the first time. It is an interesting flavor idea, but I would add maybe some coriander and honey to make it more flavorful and syrup-y.

You can find the recipe here.