This is a house favorite. I skip the sauce for the kids but they love the flavor of the pork.
Pork Tenderloin with Green Peppercorn Sauce
Adapted from Gourmandise Cooking School & Ina Garten
White rice, prepared
1 pork tenderloin
1-2 T good olive oil
1-2 t ground fennel seed (grind fresh fennels seeds in mortar and pestle if possible)
1 t Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
¼ cup butter
2 T all-purpose flour
½ cup white wine
3 cups chicken stock
2 t Dijon mustard
2 t whole-grain mustard
¼ cup green peppercorns in brine, drained
Cook white rice to serve with finished pork and sauce.
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Rub pork tenderloin with olive oil and mustard. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and ground fennel seed. Let sit and come to room temp for 20 minutes.
Heat an oven safe sauté pan over medium-high or high heat and brown the pork on 2-3 sides.
Put the pan in the oven and finish cooking for 10-20 minutes or until internal temp is 140-145 degrees. Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
Sauce:
For the sauce, if there isn’t 1/4 cup of fat in the pan, add enough butter to the pan to make 1/4 cup total. Over medium heat, whisk the flour into the fat in the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock, 2 teaspoons of each mustard, the green peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened. Taste the sauce and add salt, etc if needed.
Cut the pork on the diagonal and serve over white rice. Pour the sauce over the top. (I like lots of sauce! Be warned the peppercorns can be very peppery but if you can handle it, the flavor is so good.)
