Roasted Berkshire Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Salsify, Apple, Brussels Sprouts, & Apple Cider Jus

I learned something new this week. Wiley will send me a recipe and photo (and permission to post it) from a review cookbook for my readers to enjoy. Here's a mouth-watering recipe from the Winter section of "Fresh From the Market". The recipe is gluten, casein (dairy), soy, nut, and egg free.

Roasted Berkshire Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Salsify, Apple, Brussels Sprouts, & Apple Cider Jus
(Recipe photo by Quentin Bacon)

Berkshire pigs are renowned for their tender, flavorful, and juicy meat.

The name is derived from Berkshire County in the United Kingdom, where this breed dates back nearly four hundred years. They have been carefully cultivated in America since the late 1800s.

SERVES 6

Caramelized Vegetables and Apples
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 pound salsify, peeled and cut into 11/2-inch pieces
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and each cut into 6 wedges
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup pearl onions, peeled and halved
3 garlic cloves, smashed
3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 cups apple cider
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Pork
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 tablespoons juniper berries
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
3 pork tenderloins, 1 pound each, cut in half crosswise
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

Prepare the vegetables

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil and add the lemon juice. Add the salsify and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Immediately transfer the salsify to a bowl of ice water. Once cool, drain and pat dry.

Bring another saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the Brussels sprouts until tender, about 3 minutes. Immediately transfer the Brussels sprouts to a bowl of ice water. Once cool, drain and pat dry.

Prepare the pork

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Place the fennel seeds, juniper berries, black peppercorns, allspice,
and mustard seeds in a small sauté pan over medium heat and toast until fragrant, about 1 minute. Once toasted, transfer the spices to a spice grinder and coarsely grind. Season the pork with salt and the spice mixture. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron pan over high heat. Sear the tenderloins on all sides, about 1 minute on each side. Transfer the tenderloins to a plate.

Caramelize the vegetables and apples

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the cast-iron pan over high heat. Add the apples and sugar and cook until the apples begin to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a plate. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pan and add the pearl onions, garlic, and thyme and sauté for 1 minute. Add the blanched salsify and Brussels sprouts and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Deglaze with the apple cider and vinegar, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the apples to the pan.

Finish cooking the pork

Arrange the pork on top of the vegetables and apples. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the pork registers 160˚F, about 8 minutes. Allow the pork to rest for 3 to 4 minutes before slicing. To serve Divide the vegetables and apples among 6 plates. Slice the tenderloins and arrange them on top. Spoon the pan juices around the pork and serve.

Wine suggestion

Serve this dish with a rich and creamy Chardonnay that offers flavors of golden apples, pain grille, and mouth-watering acidity, such as Chardonnay, Patz and Hall, 2006, Russian River Valley, California.