Pork Tenderloin with a Parsley Orange Gremolata


Originally posted by Sarah – April 21, 2015image

After Sunday’s meal on the grill I have just been dying to get out there again.  When the rain stopped this afternoon I was even more excited for dinner, the grill just opens up so many flavors and cooking techniques.  Tonight we grilled two pork tenderloins (after they relaxed in a marinade for a bit) and topped them off with a refreshing twist on a Gremolata.

To begin with tonight’s dinner I needed to get the tenderloin trimmed and into the marinade:  1 Tablespoon each of ginger preserves, whole grain mustard and apple cider vinegar and 2 Tablespoons of Ben’s Maple Syrup.  Ginger preserves are not a common thing and they are quite strong but they are great with pork and to mix a spicy/sweet flavor into marinades.  They are with the jams and jellies at the store.  Give them a try.

While they are sitting in the marinade you can go ahead and start the Gremolata. A traditional Gremolata is very simple: 1/4 cup of very finely chopped fresh parsley, 3-4 cloves of very finely chopped garlic and the zest of one lemon.  It is delicious, refreshing and can really brighten a dish.  In the case of tonight’s Gremolata I changed it just slightly. 

Start with 1 cup of loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, when very finely chopped this will be about 1/4 of a cup.

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You really need to take the time and knife work to get this as finely chopped as you can.

imageI the very finely chopped 1 clove of garlic.  Notice that I used a different board for this.  I have a separate board I always use for garlic and onions, just to keep my flavors separate. 

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 I got these two together in a bowl so that I could put the orange zest directly into the same dish.  I also have two microplanes, one for fruit only and one for other items such as garlic and cheeses.  I place the microplane right over the bowl and add the zest to the party.

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 The finished project was really quite refreshing.

imageAbout a tablespoon of this on top of a few slices of the grilled tenderloin and you have yourself a great meal.  Enjoy!

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About Sarah

Sarah is a trained chef and owner of Whisk Baked Goods. She lives in Chelmsford with her husband and two active boys. Sarah is passionate about food, loves eating local, and cooking gluten free foods.