PORK TENDERLOIN PAN ROAST WITH BLACK OLIVES AND ORANGE
- 2 large garlic cloves
- Shredded zest and juice of 1 small orange
- 1 tablespoon good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for browning
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
- 1 pork tenderloin (about Âľ to 1 pound;Â organic if possible)
- About 10 pitted black Kalamata olives
- ½ cup dry white wine
- Water
Instructions:
Sizzled strips of orange zest, roasted olives, white wine, and garlic restore to today’s pork what it is lacking: lusciousness.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a blender or food processor, mince together the garlic, orange zest, a few tablespoons of the orange juice (save the rest for basting), the olive oil, basil, and light sprinklings of salt and pepper. Make about 8 deep slits in the meat, and stuff them with the minced mixture.
- Lightly film a 12-inch skillet (with an ovenproof handle) with olive oil. Sear the pork on all sides over medium-high heat (it doesn’t have to actually brown). Add the olives, remaining orange juice, and the wine to the pan, and slip it into the oven.
- Roast for 20 minutes, or until an instant-reading thermometer inserted in the center of the tenderloin reads 150°F. As the pork cooks, the pan juices will brown, which is what you want. You don’t want burning, however, so add about ½ cup water to the pan if burning threatens. Baste the tenderloin several times with the pan juices.
- Carefully remove the pan from the oven (watch the handle—it will be very hot), and let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice the meat into ½-inch-thick rounds, swiping it through the pan juices as you go. Serve it moistened with the pan juices, piling the olives on the slices.