I’m also trying to stop buying things. It’s a thousand wonders that my debit card didn’t spontaneously combust between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, and at this point I’m just tired of taking the damn thing out of my wallet. So dinner inspiration is coming from my pantry, my freezer, and my produce drawer. Your mileage may vary.
Today I’m looking at grapes (three colors of, left over from a photo shoot) that should have been eaten days ago, pork tenderloin that I bought on sale right after the hurricane and is still taking up room in my freezer, and, to my delight, a bunch of premium pecans I got as Christmas gifts. (Thank you Mom and BKP!) I must be living right: pork tenderloin with roasted grapes and pecan rice, coming right up!
As it happens, this is not my initial foray into the lush deliciousness that is roasted grapes. I first had them 25 years ago at a fancy foodie dinner party, and cottoned to them immediately. I’ve served them one way or another at catering jobs for years, but I never think to make them for home. I can’t imagine why not. If you’ve never had them, do give them a try. The recipe below is a lovely showcase for roasted grapes, and nothing about it is prissy, or weird, or even new. Like nearly everything, the ancient Greeks were roasting grapes way back in the-gods-only-know-when.
As long as we’re talking about ingredients, I’ll say that I think pork tenderloin is far and away one of the best bargains in the meat case. There’s zero waste, it cooks quickly and easily, and it’s super-duper versatile. The only caveats I have are not to overcook it, and to make sure to add flavor somehow. They come packaged in pairs. One tenderloin is perfect for two, two tenderloins are perfect for four, with just enough left for a midnight snack. If you only need one tenderloin, the second one freezes beautifully if well wrapped. And if you’re not a midnight snacker, any cooked pork tenderloin leftovers make good sandwiches, can be used on salads, and are quite nice in stir fries or fried rice dishes, tacos, etc.
Finally, as you might expect of a Gulf Coast girl, I like rice. I like plain white rice, I like the kind of rice that comes with Chinese takeout, I love the vinegar rice in sushi rolls, I will eat cold leftover coconut rice straight from the fridge. I even like to throw rice at weddings. (NO, it doesn’t make birds explode. Raw rice, like cooked rice, is completely harmless to birds. Thank you, science.) Aborio, basmati, jasmine–I also like rice pudding which somehow irks my children. I’m including the pecan rice recipe below because it’s so easy, so good, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to this saucy pork and roasted grape dish. Try it also with roast chicken or small game birds you’ve wrapped in bacon. Throw some sausage in it and use it to stuff a Cornish game hen.
Oh–and the only bad thing about cooking with pecans? Eventually you run out of them.
Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Grapes
Ingredients
- 2 cups seedless grapes
- Olive oil
- Black pepper
- 1 package pork tenderloins, about 1 ½ or 2 lbs.
- salt
- 2 T. soft butter
- 2 t. Dijon mustard
- medium shallot, thinly sliced into rings
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 t. dried thyme
- 1 T. cornstarch mixed with 1 T. cold water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Cover a rimmed sheet pan with parchment or foil and scatter the whole grapes on it. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Bake 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted grapes and their juices to a bowl and set aside. Leave the oven on.
- While the grapes roast, season the meat with salt and pepper. Mix the butter and Dijon mustard together and spread all over the meat. Heat a film of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Working quickly but one at a time, brown the tenderloins on all sides. Don’t clean the skillet. (But you may want to take it off the heat momentarily so you don’t burn the stuff on the bottom--AKA, the fond.) Put the tenderloins on the sheet pan. Make sure the tenderloins aren’t touching--they need plenty of space between them to roast properly. Roast for 15 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 145°. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest.
- While the tenderloins roast, sauté the shallot over medium low in the same skillet you just used for the meat. When the shallot is soft, add the wine, stirring to scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet--2 or 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and thyme. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook another minute or two, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Keep the sauce warm.
- When the pork has rested, serve with roasted grapes and the pan sauce. This dish is especially good with Pecan Rice, below.
Notes
Easy Pecan Rice
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 2 T. butter
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 cup raw white rice--basmati is nice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Toast pecans in a 400° oven for 7 or 8 eight minutes or until fragrant. Set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl (1 ½ quarts, or so), combine chicken stock, butter, salt, and rice. Microwave uncovered on high for 18 minutes.
- When rice is done fluff with a fork and stir in pecans and parsley.
Forwarded to mom so I can be invited to their new house for dinner!😉
Excellent idea!
Bart and I made this for dinner last night and it was wonderful. We used beef stock and red wine as we didn’t have the other. I was really in love the pecan rice.
I made this last night and it was a huge hit! Of course, I couldn’t resist a few tweaks, either because I had to substitute for something, or to make it in a real hurry. I captured the essence, however, and it’s definitely a keeper. I made the rice with Arborio, and it was wonderful.