Baked Pork Tenderloin With A French Country Salad Featuring Opinel

This garlic baked pork tenderloin with italian seasonings and a nice French country salad is one of my favorite summertime dinners! First off, everyone loves pork tenderloin, and this one has just enough interesting and surprising flavors to make it feel dinner party-worthy. I roast mine in the oven but this is a recipe you can throw on the grill too! Pork tenderloin is one of those cuts of meat that is made for serving a crowd too so you could easily scale this recipe up (buy a larger tenderloin) depending on your guest count, then slice it up and arrange on a big gorgeous family-style platter.

This dish comes together in under an hour and is great for two also and makes amazing leftovers for a healthy, low carb keto or paleo diet eating plan, too! So it’s really just incredibly versatile!

This is a great recipe to try if you've never cooked pork before, as it is perfect for even beginner home cooks - though the flavor is rich enough to please even those with a lot of experience cooking! In this recipe we are going to quickly pan sear the pork and then pop it into the oven where it gets nice and cozy with amazing garlic butter italian seasoning - making it's own gravy right in the pan. but when searing- be sure to not overcook. Pork can tend to get really dry and tough when overcooked since it has very little fat…so just give it a quick browning!!!

If your tenderloin has a large sliver skin (the tough, white membrane that is often trimmed off and removed by many grocers, but is sometimes still left on), you can remove it by making a small slit with a sharp knife and pulling the membrane off the tenderloin to remove before marinating and cooking. You can find videos on-line with videos on how to do this!

This process is just like removing silver skin from ribs.

We have really wonderful gorgeous functional knives from Opinel and their FORGED 1890 5" BONING KNIFE is a favorite in our kitchen! Steeped in tradition, the Forged 1890 5" boning knife is as versatile as it is beauti-ful in the hand of any butcher. Fully forged from X50CrMoV15 steel, the blade sharpens easily and holds a clean edge. The full tang provides exceptional bal-ance. The bolster guard adds additional grip and safety while you quickly remove bones and ligaments from even the toughest of meats. This one works really well for this beef tenderloin recipe….perfectly trimming the white membrane off the tenderloin. This gem of a knife really cleans up the meat nicely with little to no effort on my part. The knife does all the work. So give it a try next time you visit your meat counter and have the butcher leave the white membrane on your pork. There is something quite poetic about doing it yourself! Or letting your man do it..HA! Isn’t is so sexy to see a handsome man in the kitchen working with a equally handsome knife and a delicious cut of meat?! I think I just adore watching their hands work…..the hands that are full of life experiences …..

You can read more about Opinel’s knives here. I highly recommend them to anyone who loves to cook.

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp celtic sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

2 lb pork loin

4 tbsp butter, sliced into 4-6 pats

2 tbsp diced garlic

3 tbsp Italian Herb Seasoning Blend

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Add Italian Herb Seasoning to bowl

Generously season meat with salt and pepper.

In a large pan, heat oil until shimmery.

Add to pan, and cook on all sides until dark golden brown.

Transfer to baking sheet.

Generously coat with herb mix.

Place pats of butter on top of the pork.

Wrap in foil, bake until meat is 150 degrees internally at the widest, thickest part of the loin (about 25 minutes.)

When pork has come to temperature, remove and let rest, tented with foil, for at least five minutes to lock in juices.

Slice against the grain and serve immediately.

To store leftovers, place in an airtight container and keep in refrigerator for up to three days.

To freeze leftovers, place in a plastic bag or wrap in plastic wrap and keep in freezer for up to three months.

To reheat, let thaw naturally in the refrigerator overnight, and bake at 350, wrapped in foil, until piping hot when ready to serve.

Love this dish with roasted potatoes and a French Country Salad. I feel like it’s really easy to fall in a salad rut but this salad happens to be really fresh and exciting. A little inspiration from bright delicious roasted beets and organic roasted asparagus makes this recipe super special. This recipe is from Mon Petit Four and I highly recommend you follow their blog for delicious French recipes.

French Country Salad RECIPE

Ingredients

For the salad

1 (5 oz.) bag of arugula

1/2 pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed

olive oil, to drizzle over asparagus

sea salt, to sprinkle over asparagus

1/2 cup sliced roasted beets

1/2 cup whole walnuts

1/4 cup whipped goat cheese (love SOIGNON )

For the vinaigrette

2 tbsp dijon mustard

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves small garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

juice of 1/2 a lemon

zest of 1/2 a lemon

Instructions

To create the salad

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Cut the asparagus into 1 1/2" long pieces. Spread the asparagus out onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the asparagus along with a sprinkle of sea salt. Roast for 4 to 5 minutes, until the asparagus is tender but still has a bite. Allow the asparagus to cool before using.

Toss the arugula with the asparagus in a large bowl; temporarily set aside.

To create the dressing

Whisk all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small measuring cup.

To assemble

Toss the salad with the vinaigrette until everything is lightly coated in the dressing. Then garnish the salad with the sliced beets, nuts, and crumbled goat cheese.

Highly recommend the Forged 1890 6" Chef Knife from Opinel for this recipe and all recipes really!

Steeped in tradition, the Forged 1890 6" Chef’s knife is a true workhorse anywhere in the kitchen. Fully forged from X50CrMoV15 steel, the blade sharpens easily and holds a sharp edge. The full tang provides exceptional balance and confidence. Use the knife for chopping, mincing and slicing. This is the knife I use most often…for vegetables and pretty much anything. I actually own two of these- all though not necessary but Rodge and I can work on various dishes at the same time and this knife is truly our favorite. We cook almost every night at home!

Dimensions
6" Blade, 12" Total
Materials
Treated European Beech Wood, X50CrMoV15 Stainless Steel
Care
Hand wash, air dry

Bon appétit !