Pork Tenderloin and Plum Chutney

Lately I’ve been finding a difficult time concocting my own recipes so for the last couple of weeks I’ve been relying on pretty food magazines to pick up the slack for my fleeting creativity.

Getting full use out of the August edition of Bon Appetit magazine, the same one that I used for last weeks Chicken with Herb Roasted Tomato recipe, I’m pulling a recipe for today’s blog.

As with tomatoes, stone fruits are also now in season.  What’s a stone fruit you ask?  Great question, let me explain a bit:

Stone fuit (according to Wikipedia, the most reliable source on the planet), is a synonym for a drupe, or the fruit of the genus, Prunus.

Basically a drupe, or stone fruit, is a fruit that has a skin covering a fleshy inside that surrounds a pit.  Some common stone fruits are:

• Apricots
• Plums
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Cherries
• Mangos
• Pluots (and other hybrids) 

Some other fruits that are part of the drupe classification, and although not commonly known as being “stone fruits” are:

• Almonds (Almonds, a fruit? Whaaaaaaa? The actual almond you eat is the pit inside the fruit.)
• Coconuts
• Dates
• Olives
• Coffee beans (yep.)

And one that is questionable:

• Avocados.  I did some searching and couldn’t find a definitive answer of whether avos are considered stone fruit or not…if you have a reliable resource or know a botanist, let me know in the comment section below.

Today’s recipe is a Pork Tenderloin with a Plum Chutney.  I had my friend Kat over for dinner, as she is always a trusty companion in the kitchen.  I thought the chutney was delicious, both savory and sweet, and after both of us spoon fed ourselves the chutney straight from the saucepan , I knew it was a win.

I basically followed the recipe as it was laid out in the magazine, with the exception of a few ingredient changes as I had to adjust to what I had in my pantry.  The recipe called for pancetta, but I had to go with the next best thing, bacon.

Pork Tenderloin and Plum Chutney

(from pg. 88 in August 2012 Bon Appetit magazine)

Ingredients for plum chutney:

• 4 black or red plums
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 1 large shallot, sliced lengthwise
• ½ cup raw honey
• ¼ cup Sherry vinegar (I used Apple Cider)
• 1 tbs. chopped garlic
• 1 tbs. mustard seeds (I used ½ tbs. Dijon mustard)
• 2 tsp. grated ginger
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• Sea Salt

Ingredients for pork:

• 2 tbs. minced fresh rosemary
• 4 tsp herbes de Provence (I used Italian seasoning)
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 – 1 ½ lb pork tenderloin
• Salt and pepper
• 5 slices of uncured bacon

Directions for chutney:

1. Halve the plums and cut into ½” wedges.
2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the shallots until the are soft and translucent.
3. Add the honey and the rest of the ingredients (except the plums) and stir for the next 2-3 minutes.
4. Add in the plums, cover, and simmer over medium heat, stirring for the next 8-10 minutes.
5. Uncover, and continuing cooking on low for 25-30 minutes until the mixture has thickened.
6. Add a little salt to taste.
7. You can make this in advance, cover and chill in the frig, and the re-warm before serving.

Directions for pork:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stir rosemary, herbes de provence, and oil in a small bowl.
3. Rub oil mixture over the pork tenderloin.
4. Wrap the bacon around the tenderloin (the best part).
5. Place in a large glass dish, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.  This was about 40 minutes for me.
6. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
7. Cut and serve with the chutney on top.