I'm starting this blog out with one of my favorite signature dishes, pan fried pork tenderloin. It's a little ambitious but is pretty much my go to meals if I want to show people what I am as a cook. I've prepared this in a few different ways, but the core ingredients stay the same. The key to making this a successful dish is by brining the pork for about a half a day. I always thought pork was kinda dry and tough, so now I brine all my pork loins and also poultry overnight so that they keep their moisture and flavor.
The other components to this dish are also very important to me. The puree adds a nice sweetness, as the adobo brings in a little heat, and the scallion salad has a nice freshness that complements everything well. I find that butternut squash is a really good neutral vegetable to use. I used it here in pave along with russets and yukons, but have also used it as a gnocchi and even just roasted and sliced.
Pan fried pork tenderloin
Ingredients:
Brine1 ~16 oz. cleaned pork tenderloin
1/4 C. kosher salt
2 qt. water
1 T. honey
5 whole peppercorns
fresh herbs like sage, thyme or rosemary (optional)
Combine all ingredients, cover tenderloin completely and store in a ziplock bag or covered container. Refrigerate for about 8-12 hrs.
Seasoned Dredge
1 C. flour
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
Utensils:
8" frying pan
1 C. frying oil
tongs or a fish spatula
metal screen
Process
1. Combine dredging ingredients.
2. Slice pork tenderloin into medallions and pat dry.
3. Dredge the medallions once and let them sit for about 10 min. Meanwhile, heat your oil to about 350 degrees.
4. Dredge your medallions once again and place into the hot oil. Fry them for about 2-4 minutes and flip them and fry for about another 2-4 minutes. Frying times will change depending on the size of the medallions but, you want to cook them to about medium. The ones pictured I fried for about 5 minutes total.
5. Let them rest on a wire screen for about 5 minutes before serving or cutting into.
Root Vegetable Pave- note- must be done at least 12 hrs before serving.
Ingredients
2 lbs. butternut squash (wider the better)
1 lb russet potato (wider the better)
1 lb yukon potato (wider the better)
1 C. heavy cream
Salt and pepper
4 T. butter (softened) or pan spray
Utensils:
Mandolin slicer
2 ea. 8"x 8" pans
2 ea. 16" x 8 " aluminum foil sheets
10 lbs metal weights (do not use water in a metal container because the water cannot get to the same temperature of the oven without evaporating therefore leaving the pave undercooked)
Fusing two sheets of foil together
1. Place both sheets of foil together
2. On one of the 16" sides, fold both pieces over 1"
3. Fold previously folded part over itself 1/2"
4. Keep folds intact and open. Butter or pan-spray the side without the fold
5. Place in center of one of the 8"x8" pans
Process
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees
2. Peel the squash and discard seeded end.
3. Slice all the veg to about 1/8" thickness with a mandolin slicer.
4. Toss the slices in the cream, salt, and pepper.
5. Arrange the slices on the bottom of the pan overlapping a bit and rotating randomly between the different vegetables. Fill to the edge of the pan.
6. Fold excess foil over the top of the pave making sure it's fully wrapped and sealed
7. Place second 8"x8" pan on top of the pave and place wights on top of the pan.
8. Bake pave with weights for about an hour or until you can easily poke a knife through the potatoes.
9. Refrigerate with weights on top overnight.
10. Once cold, unwrap to foil and lace a cutting board on top. Holding the bottom of the pan with one hand and the top of the cutting board with the other hand, flip.Peel the rest of the foil off.
11. Portion the pave into the desired size.
12. Reheat the pave in the microwave or in the oven for serving
Bell Pepper Corn Puree
Ingredients
1 C. yellow onion (diced)
1 cl. garlic (minced)
2 T. butter
1 ea. yellow bell pepper (diced)
1 1/2 C. sweet corn
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. turmeric
1 pinch cayenne pepper
brown sugar and salt to taste
Utensils:
Saute pan
Blender
fine mesh sieve or chinoise
small pot
Process
1. Melt butter in the saute pan
2. Sweat onions, garlic, bell pepper, and corn.
3. Stir in cumin, turmeric, and cayenne.
4. Pour saute into the blender and blend until fully pureed
5. Push puree through the sieve and into the small pot.
6. Heat the sauce and add salt and brown sugar to taste.
7. Serve warm.
Ancho Chile Adobo
Ingredients
1 pk Ancho chiles
5 ea. garlic cloves
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 T. ground cumin
1 T. olive oil
1 T. honey
salt to taste
Utensils:
blender
Process
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees
2. Place garlic in the oven for about 15-20 min or until light brown.
3. Throw chiles into the oven for about 30 seconds
4. Pull off the stems of the chiles and shake out the seeds.
5. Rehydrate the chiles in about 4 C. hot water for about 1 hr. You may need to weigh down the chiles so the fully submerge.
6. Drain the chiles and reserve soaking liquid.
7. Place all ingredients in blender with just enough soaking liquid to let the mixture move
8. Season to taste adding more honey, vinegar or salt.
Scallion Salad
Ingredients
1/2 bn scallions
1/4 bn cilantro
1 lime juiced
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Utensils
sharp knife
ice
bowl
Process
1. Slice the scallions on an extreme bias so that you get about 3 inch rings.
2. Place scallions in ice water for a few hours with enough room for them to move.
3. Drain the scallions.
4. In a mixing bowl whisk juice, oil, salt and pepper
5. Fold in scallions and cilantro.
Cilanto oil
Ingredients
1 bn cilantro
1/2 -1 c. olive oil
1 t. salt
Utinsels
boiling water
ice water
blender
fine mesh sieve
Process
1. Blanch cilantro in boiling water for 3 seconds and shock in ice water immediately.
2. Ring out cilantro completely and finely chop from stems.
3. Place cilantro and salt in the blender
4 Start blending adding enough oil to get it moving and then add about 2 more tablespoons.
5 Drain through a sieve discarding solids
