Island Pork Tenderloin Salad

I got this recipe from epicurious.com. The ingredients looked fantastic and it didn't disappoint. Even C enjoyed it, which amazes me, he normally doesn't like salads as entrees, but he really liked this one. Yay, success. This is going into permanent rotation at our house.

The whole thing came together in 30 minutes, with enough time to feed F's yogurt, banana, acorn and butternut squash dinner in between the hands on parts. That is even more of a success in this house. I made the dressing in our mini-chop, it is so much easier than whisking and always emulsifies the vinaigrette. I also added some romaine lettuce to the mix, because I had some on hand.


Island Pork Tenderloin Salad

For pork
1 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 pork tenderloin
1 tablespoons olive oil

For glaze
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Tabasco

For vinaigrette
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ tablespoon fresh orange juice
½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup olive oil

For salad
1 navel orange
2 ounces baby spinach, trimmed (5 cups leaves)
1 cup thinly sliced Napa cabbage (from 1 medium head)
½ red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 firm-ripe California avocados

Preparation

Prepare pork:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat pork with spice rub.

Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until just beginning to smoke, then brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in skillet.

Make glaze and roast pork:
Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat onto top of each tenderloin. Roast in middle of oven until thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140°F, about 20 minutes. Let pork stand in skillet at room temperature 10 minutes. (Temperature will rise to about 155°F while standing.)

Make vinaigrette while pork roasts:
Whisk together juices, mustard, salt, and pepper, then add oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified.

Prepare salad ingredients while pork stands:
Cut peel, including white pith, from oranges with a sharp knife, then cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss spinach, cabbage, and bell pepper in a large bowl with about 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Halve, pit, and peel avocados, then cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Assemble salad:
Cut pork at a 45-degree angle into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Line a large platter with dressed salad and arrange sliced pork, oranges, and avocados in rows on top. Drizzle some vinaigrette over avocados and oranges. Pour any juices from skillet over pork.

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