Grilled Garlic Rosemary Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Spice Gravy and Wild Rice Pilaf

Jesse attacked his plate before I could get a good picture in. There are a lot of recipes on this post, so bear with me. The Pomegranate Spice Gravy is a delicious, and potentially vegetarian, sauce that can be drizzled over anything-- fish, chicken, rice-- to add flavor and sticky goodness. This time I went for pomegranate juice instead of molasses to cut down on the sweetness a bit. But first: the pork tenderloin.

Grilled Garlic Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

This is so quick and easy, and uses minimal ingredients. You'll need:

1 pork tenderloin, silverskin & any fat removed with a sharp knife
1T chopped fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, cut lengthwise into slivers
1t good olive oil

Rub the tenderloin with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Make little slits with a sharp knife and insert garlic slivers (make sure they're fully inserted or they'll fall out while cooking). Now, if you happen to have an electric grill with an aroma diffuser (hey, I do), put your rosemary in the diffuser with 1/2c water. If not, rub the rosemary all over the pork. Put the pork on a very hot grill or barbecue and cook 8-10 min/side, until a thermometer reads 140 degrees. Remove from heat and let sit as long as you can stand (ideally 10 minutes) before slicing, against the grain, into 1/4-1/2 inch slices.

Wild Rice Pilaf

This is Jesse's mom's recipe, and it's delicious. We used a wild rice combo (it's cheaper and more colorful!). And, by the way, wild rice is not rice, but aquatic grass.

You'll need:

1c wild rice
2c beef broth (or chicken or veggie broth)
1 large shallot, minced
6 cremini mushrooms, minced
1 medium red onion, minced
2 stalks celery, minced
2T butter

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute all veggies together for about 7 minutes, until mushrooms give off their liquid. Add rice and saute to coat grains; add broth, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until tender and liquid is absorbed, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, 10 minutes. Fluff and serve.

Pomegranate Spice Gravy

topped with marrow-- see below

The word "gravy" here might be a bit misleading-- this sauce is more syrupy in consistency. It's based on this recipe.

You'll need:

4 veal bones, optional
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed & roughly chopped
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and cut into disks
2 star anise
1 stick cinnamon
2t black peppercorns
2c red wine
2c unsweetened pomegranate juice
1/2c *low sodium* soy sauce
2t fish sauce
2t hoisin sauce
1T dark brown sugar
1T Wondra flour (or 1t cornstarch dissolved in 1t warm water)

First step, optional: Wash, dry, and salt the bones. Brown them in a dutch oven in very hot grapeseed oil. Remove & set aside. Lower heat to medium.

In the same oil, add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Saute 15-20 minutes. Add ginger, star anise, cinnamon and peppercorns. Return bones to pot if using. Add all liquids (wine, pomegranate juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and hoisin). Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Check for sweetness; add 1T brown sugar if necessary. Keep cooking, covered, as long as you want.

this is what you take out
notice the tasty marrow in the bones...

About 15 minutes before serving, remove bones, anise and cinnamon. Run mixture through a food mill (or just strain through a fine mesh strainer) and return to pot. Sprinkle in Wondra flour, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and cook until it's as thick as you want it, probably about 3 minutes.

Roasted Brocccoli

to interested parties:
we drank a delicious 2004 Poppy Pinot

This is the easiest, and tastiest, way to cook broccoli. You can also do this with cauliflower. Just cut into florets, toss with olive oil and coarse salt, and roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. We made this the other day and had to make another batch because we ate it before sitting down to dinner-- it's that good.