Lemon Rosemary Pork Tenderloin, January 19, 2016

I loved the ease and deliciousness of last night's dinner. I jumped off from Ina Garten's recipes from her Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics cookbook (which is excellent and beautiful) to make roasted pork tenderloin and a root veggie sauté, which I served along with a Dole chopped salad with pomegranate dressing. It was our first time to try that salad and it was very yummy! 

Lemon Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

Zest of 1 lemon

3/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons for me)

1/2 c. good olive oil

7 cloves garlic, minced

The leaves from one sprig of rosemary, minced

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 tsp. Dijon

2 tsp. salt

Several grinds of pepper

2-3 pork tenderloins (about 2.5-3 lb. total)

Mix everything but the pork in a gallon ziploc. Marinate at least 3 hours. Overnight is even better. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove pork from marinade and bake about half an hour, until cooked to 137 degrees in the thickest part (you can also grill it, which I imagine is even tastier). Wrap in foil and let stand 10 minutes before slicing on the diagonal. Serves 4-6. 

Root Veggie Sauté

2 tbsp. olive oil (you can use butter)

1 turnip, diced (about 1" pieces)

2 carrots, sliced about 1" thick

2 parsnips, quartered and sliced

1 largish potato, halved and sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

A good sprinkling of dried thyme (or a few sprigs of the fresh stuff)

A pinch of salt

A good grinding of pepper

Heat oil in skillet. Add rest and stir to coat with the olive oil. Cover and cook on low about 15 minutes, until tender. You can add any other sturdy veggies you like---beets, celery root, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga. Serves 4---or more, depending on what you add!