Pork Tenderloin with Pear Glaze

This is the first of two recipes that go together. There's pork tenderloins with pear glaze, and the side dish is a potato salad with pears and haricot vert. A splashy little sauce/dressing (which I've included with the salad recipe) ties it all together.

The idea for this dish is a riff on something I saw on Top Chef. Yes, I watch Top Chef. It is my weekly reality-show crack. I always sit there in the comfort of my living room, cat on my lap, popcorn by my side, and think, "Gosh, I could cook better than some of these people." But last week's top chef featured a recipe that was reputedly very good for pork tenderloins on the grill, and I found myself intrigued by the pear in the potato salad that the chef (Stephanie Izard) served alongside. So today I came up with this version, which needs no grill and includes a glaze for the pork loin. I am not a grill person, I loathe grills with a passion (so messy, so much cleanup, so finicky for the proper temperature!), so this is designed to grab the good flavors of the recipe in an oven.

Pork Tenderloin with Pear Glaze

Pork tenderloin:
1 pork tenderloin
1 tbsp olive oil

Pear Glaze:
1/2 red pear, core removed and very thinly sliced (save the other half to use in the salad)
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1/4 large white onion, finely diced
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 sprig rosemary, chopped very finely (use a spice grinder if you've got one)
Salt
Pepper

For the absolute best flavour, start a day early and salt the tenderloin. 1 tbsp salt for 4 lbs meat is a good rule of thumb. Let the tenderloin sit in the fridge overnight to absorb the salt.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Rinse the tenderloin and trim off any excess fat. Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan (I use non-stick, it makes things easier) over medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated, drop in the tenderloin and brown it on all sides (less than 2 minutes per side is good). Transfer the browned tenderloin to a foil-lined roasting pan, and let it hang out there for a few minutes.

In the same saucepan that you used to brown the roast (there should still be a little olive oil in the bottom), add the diced onions. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent, then add the garlic. Give that 2 or 3 minutes, then add the finely sliced pear, the butter, and the rosemary. Cook all of this together for about five minutes, until the butter is just beginning to brown and the pears are falling apart. Salt it gently (Emphasis on the gently. You don't want this too salty). Pour this glaze over the tenderloin, spreading the pear-onion bits evenly along the top.

Cook the tenderloin for an hour or so, turning every 20 minutes to prevent the top from drying out. The inside should be white and not give off pink juice when poked with a knife. When the tenderloin is finished, slice it into medallions and serve over Potato-Pear salad, covered lightly with the rosemary dressing from that recipe.

Servings: 6-8