Let me explain what you’re seeing in this photo. Obviously, those are mashed potatoes on the bottom (with a bit of Italian parsley stirred into them before serving). Pork tenderloin slices have been spice-rubbed, left to marinate for awhile, then seared and baked in the oven for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile (beforehand) you will have made the two sauces – on the left (on top of the pork slice) you can see the salsa verde (green) – and on the right is the ancho chili sauce (a deep red-brown color and not hot). And some big sprigs of Italian parsley for garnish. The recipe came from a cooking class with Tarla Fallgatter. I don’t want you to get intimidated by the long list of ingredients – it’s not all that complicated to make, really. I don’t kid you, do I?
Since I like Mexican food in general, I enjoy these kinds of sauces. The salsa verde is green from tomatillos, green chiles and cilantro. First, you roast the poblano chiles (also called pasilla, although they really aren’t pasilla chiles) under the broiler just until the skin is charred – if you cook it further the flesh of the chile will disintegrate into nothing. And don’t make this but an hour or two before serving – it separates after it sits awhile. You could re-puree it, I suppose. Just have everything ready to go ahead of time and blend the sauce near to serving time.
The ancho chile sauce is really easy to make – you soak the dried anchos (they’re dried poblano chiles) for for an hour or so, seed and stem them, then whiz them up in the blender with roasted, fresh poblano chiles, some red wine vinegar, honey and lastly a bit of cream to soften the heat.
The pork is allowed to sit for awhile with a spice rub on it before you sear it quickly on top of the stove, then the tenderloin is roasted for about 20 minutes in the oven. Done. Delicious. Make some mashed potatoes to serve it on, and serve it. Do note that this entrée is very low in calories and fat – the recipe below doesn’t include the mashed potatoes, however.
Pork Tenderloin, Salsa Verde & Ancho Chile Sauce
Recipe By: Tarla Fallgatter recipe, 5/2011
Serving Size: 6
NOTES: The recipe doesn’t include how to make a batch of mashed potatoes – I prefer Yukon gold (about 5) – and just add in some buttermilk, butter, S&P and about 2 T chopped Italian parsley.
2 small pork tenderloins
1 tablespoon olive oil
SPICE RUB:
1 tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander — whole
1 tablespoon dried rosemary — crushed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
SALSA VERDE (makes about 2 cups):
2 large Anaheim chili peppers — or poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, chopped
1/2 pound tomatillos — husked, rinsed, diced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 large scallions — chopped
1/2 large poblano pepper — stemmed and seeded (this one is not roasted)
1 large garlic clove — peeled
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice — (optional) taste to see if you need it
ANCHO CHILE SAUCE (makes about 1 1/2 cups):
2 cups hot water — VERY hot
3 whole dried ancho peppers — stemmed, seeded, torn into pieces
3 large poblano peppers — roasted, peeled, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1. Mix up the herbs and spices for the SPICE RUB in a small bowl. Sprinkle about 2 T. of the rub over the meat (cover all the surfaces) and set aside for 30 minutes at room temp. You won’t use all of the spice rub – make less if you don’t want any left over.
2. Preheat the roasting pan/baking sheet you’ll use for the meat in a 400° oven.
3. Heat a large saute pan (large enough to hold the pork) over medium-high heat. Add the oil and wait until the oil shimmers. Add pork and sear the meat on all sides until brown. Place the meat on the roasting pan (or use the saute pan if it can withstand the oven heat) and insert a meat thermometer into the middle of the meat. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the meat reaches 150°. Remove from oven, place meat on a cutting board and cover loosely with foil for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
4. To serve, smear mashed potatoes on the bottom of HEATED plates, place 2-3 pork tenderloin slices on top, then scoop each sauce over the meat – on separate parts, not overlapping).
5. SALSA VERDE: An hour or so before serving, make the sauce. Combine tomatillos, chicken stock, scallions, poblano chile and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture is reduced to about 1 2/3 cups, stirring occasionally. Transfer mixture to a blender, add the Anaheim chiles, cilentro and cream. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, and add lime juice if desired. Taste it first to see if the mixture needs the lime juice. Set aside for about an hour at the most.
6. ANCHO CHILE SAUCE: In a flat type bowl or pie plate pour the very hot water over the dried chiles. Let stand for 5-30 minutes, until the chiles are soft. Drain, but reserve the liquid. Place the drained chiles, 1/2 cup of the reserved soaking liquid, the chopped poblano chiles, cream, honey and vinegar in a blender. Puree until smooth, adding more soaking liquid (one tablespoon at a time) if the sauce is too thick. Taste it and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Per Serving: 285 Calories; 15g Fat (45.5% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 80mg Cholesterol; 953mg Sodium.
Two years ago: Grilled Flatbread with Lamb and Feta
Three years ago: Frosty Strawberry Squares (a frozen strawberry dessert)
Marie
said on May 29th, 2011:
Oh Carolyn, this sounds so delicious. We can’t get tomatillos here or the chilies, so I will just have to drool and dream! Fabulous!
It was delicious! Sorry you can’t get tomatillos. They’re such a unique food item – kind of like tomatoes, but tart and citrus-y. . . . carolyn t