Sudara Eats: Island Pork Tenderloin Salad

In the midst of all the cookies and pies and holiday drinks, we start to crave something on the lighter side.  Vegetables that do not involve the word casserole. Fruit that is not smothered in syrup or a sugary crust. This Island Pork Tenderloin Salad recipe helps fill our craving and comes together quickly (don’t let that ingredient list scare you!!).

Speaking of ingredients, feel free to use whatever fruits/vegetables you have on hand. We like pomegranate seeds and sumo orange slices in the winter; blueberries and mangoes or peaches in the summer. And, that glazed pork? It’s the best glazed pork we’ve ever made. We love how the brown sugar adds a nice, sweet “crust” while the tabasco brings an unexpected, but welcome heat.  We hope you enjoy this salad as much as we do.  Cheers to a season full of good food, great friends, and making time to care for ourselves too!

Island Pork Tenderloin Salad
For pork
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pork tenderloins (2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds total)
1 tablespoons olive oil
For glaze
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 tablespoon Tabasco
For vinaigrette
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon curry powder, toasted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oilFor salad
About 1 cup of chopped fruit of choice
6 Cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips
2 avocadosPrepare meat:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat meat with spice rub.
  3. Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until just beginning to smoke, then brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in skillet.

Make glaze and roast meat:

  1. Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat onto top of each tenderloin.
  2. Roast in middle of oven until thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140°F, about 20 minutes.
  3. Let pork stand in skillet at room temperature 10 minutes. (Temperature will rise to about 155°F while standing.)

Make vinaigrette while meat roasts:

  1. Whisk together juices, mustard, curry powder, salt, and pepper, then add oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified.

Prepare salad ingredients while meat stands:

  1. Peel and cut fruit
  2. Toss spinach, cabbage and bell pepper in a large bowl with some of the vinaigrette (to taste).
  3. Halve, pit, and peel avocados, then cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Assemble salad:

  1. Cut pork at a 45-degree angle into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Line a large platter with dressed salad and arrange sliced pork, fruit, and avocados in rows on top.
  2. Drizzle some vinaigrette over avocados and other fruit. Pour any juices from skillet over pork.

Recipe adapted from here.