Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms – Recipe!

Making an entire meal in one pan has become an efficient tip for home cooks.  I remember many days cooking in the kitchen, and having four or five pots going all at once, just to make one meal and thinking, this feels like a lot.  Nowadays we have all gotten a little smarter in the kitchen and can make quicker cooking dinner options that taste like they have been made in multiple cooking vessels, but they’re made in just one or two pans.

Pork tenderloin is a lovely cut of meat that I often choose for mealtime.  For starters, it’s inexpensive and you can find it in almost any grocery store, it also cooks up quickly, in less than 30 minutes, and it tastes like an expensive cut of meat because it’s a tenderloin.  I also love the compact size of a pork tenderloin because it feeds a family, and leaves you just a few leftovers, but not so much that you’re eating the same protein all week.

Wild mushrooms are also an ingredient that is readily available as well.  I buy good mushrooms from my standard grocery store down the street, get them in my farm box twice monthly, and buy them from my local farmers market in town on Sundays.  Wild Mushrooms encompass several varieties including; Oyster, Chanterelles, Lion’s Mane, Maitake and Morels.  Most of the foraged fungus is found in the “wild” (hence their name), but you can buy cultivated varieties that taste just as good, for a fraction of the cost.  So my recommendation is to buy the variety of mushroom that’s available and tasty, at the price you can afford.

Pork and mushrooms are two things that taste great together because they balance each other out.  Pork can be slightly smoky, yet sweet at the same time, while mushrooms taste earthy and exotic.  The entire meal is made in just one pan, plus a little time in an iron skillet on the stove top for browning beforehand.  The brothy mushrooms ladled over succulent sliced pork is not only good, it’s so good, and makes one of the best tasting meals this week.

Ingredients

1 pound pork tenderloin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound wild or cultivated mushrooms, sliced

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced

(Serves 4)

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Remove pork from packaging and pat dry with paper towel.
2. In a small bowl, combine, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and pepper.  Rub pork with spice mix on all sides, leaving 1 teaspoon for mushrooms.
3. In an iron or metal skillet over high heat, add 2 teaspoons oil.  After 2 minutes, add pork and sear on all sides, about 8 minutes.  Remove and set aside.
4. In a casserole dish, add butter in two pieces, mushrooms, broth and remaining spice mix.  Place pork on top of dish.
5. Roast in oven for 20-25 minutes, until slightly pink, about 140 degrees.  Remove and let pork rest on cutting board for 7 minutes.  Slice thickly and place back into dish with brothy mushrooms.  Serve in bowls or on plates over rice or quinoa.  Enjoy!