Sibling Cutlery

Ah, fall is upon us. For those of you up North, that means it’s cold, rainy, and windy. Time to look at the trees and change the oil in the snowblower. Down here in Arizona, it means double digit temperatures (finally) and, apparently, dodging tornadoes. Whatever the weather, something primal tells me it’s time for some savory comfort food – a little change of pace from all the bright Mexican flavor I’ve been throwing at you lately. Today for our inspiration we turn east (not that far east… more in the middle… okay a bit north of that…) to our Teutonic friends. Out of the cantina and into the bierhaus, if you will.

Pork tenderloin is one of my absolute favorite meats – melt-in-your mouth tender and deeply flavorful without being overly fatty or heavy. And though this preparation may be all dressed in shades of brown, don’t think it skimps on taste. Well-browned, sweet-sharp onions and spicy, grainy mustard meld with porky essence into a rich sauce, with fresh dill cutting through to provide balance. And at any rate, there are few things more comforting than a pan-simmered hunk of meat on buttered noodles. So let’s get at this.

Here’s what you need. The flavors here are simple, so quality ingredients are key – fresh dill, lean pork, and stone ground, grainy mustard are the heart of the flavor, so don’t skimp.

Slice the onion nice and thin.

Slice the tenderloin into 2″ pieces, pound them to ~1″ thick, and season both sides with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Dust with flour.

Fry in 2 tablespoons each of melted butter and olive oil. You’re just trying to brown them up,  not cook all the way through, so you only need about 1-2 minutes per side.

Transfer to a plate. It’s still pretty raw, so don’t eat it yet, no matter how good it smells.

Cook the onion over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and nicely browned.

Stir in a teaspoon of flour and a tablespoon of mustard.

Cook for a minute or so.

Add a cup of chicken broth, and get it boiling.

Put the pork in the bubbling broth (the original recipe says to “nestle” it in there – isn’t that adorable?).

Let the pork cook through, and remove from the the skillet.

Chop up your fresh dill.

Add it to the sauce (which should be getting nicely thick by now). Don’t cook it, just stir it in.

In the meantime, you should have been cooking some noodles. I probably should have mentioned that. Dress them with butter and a little salt and pepper.

Set the pork atop the noodles, spoon the sauce on top, and enjoy.

Pork Tenderloin Smothered in Onion and Mustard

From Food and Wine

Ingredients:

1. 1½ lbs. pork tenderloin
2. salt and fresh-ground black pepper
3. 1 tsp. all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4. 2 Tbl. unsalted butter
5. 2 Tbl. olive oil
6. 1 large onion, sliced very thinly
7. 1 Tbl. grainy mustard
8. 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
9. 1 Tbl. chopped fresh dill
10. Buttered noodles, for serving

Cut the pork tenderloin into 2 inch lengths, and pound them to 1″ thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper, then dust with flour. In a medium, deep sided skillet, melt the butter together with the olive oil. When heated, add the pork and cook on high heat, turning once. The pork should come out lightly browned, not cooked all the way through – total time about 3 minutes. Transfer the browned pork to a plate.

Without cleaning out the skillet, add the onion and cook, covered, about 10 minutes, until softened and browned. Stir occasionally. Stir in the mustard and cook an additional minute, then pour in the chicken broth. Once the broth comes to a boil, return the pork to the skillet. Make sure the pork is settled deeply into the sauce, not sitting on top of it. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 8 minutes, until the pork is cooked through.

While the pork is cooking, boil noodles according to package directions. When cooked, drain and dress with butter, salt, and pepper, to taste.

Remove the pork from the sauce, and stir the chopped dill into the sauce.  Serve immediately – divide the noodles onto plates, top with pork, and spoon the sauce on top.

Serves 4.