A New Recipe, As Promised

            My brother Rob and I both love to cook and we’ve engaged in a life-long, unspoken competition to see who can come up with the best new dish. We had many discussions about pork tenderloin. He distained the boneless variety as being too easily dried out when roasted. I, on the other hand, keep one or two in the freezer for an easy dinner, maintaining that “they don’t dry out if you cook them right.” (I really am a snotty little sister, aren’t I?) I spent a good deal of time coming up with recipes to prove my point, and tonight, two years after his death, I’m still doing it. Here’s one way to cook boneless pork tenderloin so it won’t dry out:

            There are only two of us, so I usually cut the tenderloin in half before I freeze it. The result is a nice little roast that we can enjoy for dinner and then if there’s any left, I can do sandwiches or Chinese soup.* Boneless pork tenderloins usually come split down the middle, so you wind up with two pieces. For this recipe, I cut a ½ deep groove down the center of each piece, lengthwise. I salted the pieces with a citrus/sea salt blend** and gave them a few grindings of pepper. Using a peeled bosc pear, which I had cored and cut lengthwise into 8 pieces, I filled the grooves with lengths of pear and laid a branch of rosemary on each one. Then I put them together and tied them. I seasoned the outside of the roast, drizzled olive oil over it and put it in a pan with the rest of the pear. You can use as much or as little pear as you like. I just think the pear/rosemary combo is great. Roast the meat at 350 degrees until the internal temp is 130, then take it out and tent it with foil. Let it rest for at least 10 min. Serve in 1” slices, with the additional pears from the roasting pan and some nice, grainy mustard. Let me know what you think.

*Otherwise known as Oodles of Noodles. This wonderful foodstuff was a staple of my diet when I was in college, and turned out to be an effective hangover cure in later years. I still keep a supply though hangovers are part of the past. It’s great for transforming left over anything.

**I got it at the craft fair at Town Hall at Thanksgiving. The women who make chocolate in Truro sell it. Yummy!