SERENDIPITY SHOPPING

I’m lucky. My son Ben does my grocery shopping for me so I don’t have to brave the queues outside the door of the hipermercado. He’s a good shopper, gets what’s on the list and is home much faster than I could do it. 

This week, I asked for “Meat—whatever you want to eat.” He brought two ibérico pork tenderloins, the choicest possible meat. At the same time, grandson Leo arrived with a big bag of juice oranges that he had picked at his other grandmother’s finca. The juice made a great sauce for the pork.

Roasted tenderloin of ibérico pork--super tender.

Juice oranges are incredibly sweet at the end of the season. 

I got really lucky when Ben offered to cook the meat too. He would roast it and, as long as the oven was on, make some patatas panaderas, bakery potatoes, and a nectarine crisp with the last of the fruit from our garden. A serendipitous supper.

Sliced pork tenderloin with baked potatoes panaderas.

Pass the orange sauce, please!

Orange sauce complements the pork.

Meat, potatoes and dessert in the oven at once (and I didn't cook)!

Meat is roasted to medium, still pink, so it stays juicy.

Potatoes bake with onions, garlic and olive oil. (See a recipe here.)

Pork Tenderloin with Orange Sauce
Solomillo de Cerdo con Salsa de Naranja

Ibérico pork is usually marbled with fat, that’s why it’s so much more juicy and delicious than regular pork. But, the tenderloin is the leanest cut. When cooking tenderloin, whether ibérico or regular pork, take care not to overcook it or the meat can be dry. (In Spain, ibérico pork is usually served medium-rare.)

Juice oranges, extra sweet.

Serves 4-6.

2 pork tenderloins, each 14-16 ounces
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika)
Sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup lager beer

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
¼ cup diced carrot
1 ¼ cups fresh orange juice
¼ cup water
Sprig of rosemary
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)

Crush garlic for marinade.

Place the tenderloins on a sheet of plastic wrap. Crush the garlic, salt and peppercorns in a mortar. Mix in the pimentón. Spread the garlic paste on both sides of the meat. Lay a few sprigs of rosemary on top and roll them tightly in the wrap. Place in a covered container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. 

Preheat broiler. Bring meat to room temperature.

Unroll the meat into a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. Place the tenderloins under the broiler until browned on top, 4-5 minutes. Watch closely so meat doesn’t burn. Turn and brown reverse side, 4-5 minutes. 

Set oven temperature to 400ºF. Pour the beer over the meat and roast the meat until medium, 145ºF internal temperature, about 15 minutes more.

Remove the tenderloins to a cutting board. Save the drippings in the pan.  Have the sauce ready.

For the sauce, heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and sauté the onion and carrot 5 minutes. Add the orange juice, water and rosemary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover the pan. Cook until onions and carrots are very soft, 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Discard the sprig of rosemary. Use an immersion blender to puree the vegetables. Add all drippings and juices from the roasting pan to the sauce and blend again.

Return the sauce to the saucepan. Cook, uncovered, until reduced by about a third, 5 minutes. (If desired, thicken the sauce by combining the cornstarch with a little water and stirring into the sauce. Cook, stirring, until thickened.)

Slice the tenderloins and serve them with the orange sauce.

Dessert baked at the same time as meat and potatoes. Nectarine crisp, using the last of the fruit from the garden with a topping of crumbly oats and nuts. (See the recipe for fruit crisp here.)

More recipes for pork tenderloin:

Pork Tenderloin with Whisky Sauce.

Pork Tenderloin with Mushrooms.

Pork Tenderloin in Adobo with Cherry Ketchup.

Pork Tenderloin with Plum Sauce.

Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Sauce.