Although my mom taught me how to treat vegetables with care and respect, meat was a dietary staple at my house. There was no Sunday lunch without Wiener schnitzel or beef ragout, accompanied by chicken and noodles soup. Then COVID hit, and my sense of taste and smell was highly affected, meaning that for almost two years, I could barely take a look at any kind of meat.
The other day, wandering around the supermarket, I saw a beautiful pork tenderloin and my mom’s baked pork tenderloin with sage recipe came into my mind immediately. I remembered this herb’s earthy yet fresh taste and I thought that those flavours might smooth my more than conflicted relationship with meats. The fact that I would harvest the herbs from my own terrace even sounded more convincing. And then the magic happened; after two years, I ate a double portion of a meat dish without hesitation or any unpleasant taste. We even opened a bottle of red wine to celebrate it.
Baked pork tenderloin with fresh herbs and mashed sweet potato
Ingredients
- 500 g Pork tenderloin
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 500 g sweet potato peeled and cut
- 0,5 ml milk I used plant-based, but feel free to use any kind
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 leaves sage
- 3-4 stems thyme
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pan; add the garlic cloves and the fresh herbs, and fry them for about 3-4 mins. Remove the sage leaves; otherwise, they will add a bitter flavour to the dish.
- Add the tenderloin and sear it on all sides. Once the pork is roasted, add a little bit of water and cover the pan. Cook it for about 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally. Remember, we want a moist and juicy meat slightly pink in the middle.
- In the meantime, prepare the mashed sweet potatoes. Cook the potatoes until they are tender, then drain them. Add butter and milk, and mash them with a potato masher. If you want the consistency to be more puree-like, add more milk. (A little bit of grated smoked cheese and nutmeg go heavenly with the sweet potato and add an extra kick to the dish.)
- Once the pork is ready, rest it for about 5-7 minutes before cutting it into medallions.
- Enjoy!
