Pork Tenderloin with Chard and Grits

Even though we've gotten to a point where we feel comfortable with the majority of the CSA produce, we're still working on building our repertoire with said produce. Today we're sharing a new recipe with chard. According to the blog we first cooked with this in spring of 2011. Since then we've tried in a pasta dish or two, soup, and a few other things. So we're still learning and still experimenting. We really enjoyed this pork dish - it was unlike anything we'd tried before with chard!


Martha Stewart's Pork Tenderloin with Chard & Polenta
Ingredients
4 cups skim milk *
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth *
1 1/3 cups quick-cooking polenta *
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pork tenderloin (1 pound), cut into 12 equal slices
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for dish
2 medium white onions, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise - I used one onion
1 bunch Swiss chard (3/4 pound), stems cut into 1/2-inch pieces and leaves roughly chopped
2 to 3 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Directions
   In a 4-quart pot, bring milk and 5 cups broth to a boil over medium-high. Gradually whisk in polenta. Continue to whisk until polenta thickens. Reduce heat to low, season with salt and pepper, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until cooked, about 25 minutes. *
   Meanwhile, flatten pork pieces into medallions between the palms of your hands - I used a meat tenderizer. Season pork with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add half the pork and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil; repeat with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and pork - I needed 3 minutes per side for 6 minutes total.
   Return skillet to heat and add 1 teaspoon oil, onions, chard stems, and 1/4 cup broth. Cook, scraping up browned bits, until vegetables begin to soften, 5 minutes (reduce heat to prevent burning as needed) - this step took a little longer for me. Add chard leaves and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add vinegar, 3/4 cup broth, and pork with any accumulated juices; cook until liquid has almost evaporated, 4 minutes.
   Pour 4 cups polenta into a lightly oiled 8-inch square baking dish; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for later use.* Stir butter into remaining polenta. Season pork and vegetables with salt and pepper and serve over polenta.

*We substituted quick-cooking grits for polenta and prepared according to package directions.

We sauteed apples and topped the dish with them. To do so, we peeled and diced two apples then sauteed in 2 tbsp melted butter with brown sugar and a dash of salt and pepper.

It's always Caturday

1 comment:

  1. Chard dish sounds good, but who can think about that with that cute cat video to look at!!!!

    ReplyDelete