Pork with Pears and Shallots

   

   

Ever wonder why you love French Fries?  Yes, I know, because they are good.  But why are they good to us?  Are our tastes programmed to love salt and fat?  The answer many would say is yes.  Our prehistoric ancestors who won the climb up the evolutionary ladder did so because of the benefits of their love for fat and salt.  Storing body fat got us through lean times in the ancient world, and so those with a taste for it survived. Of course, too much of a good thing is bad, and we have modern waistlines and health conditions as a result. 

   

My question is, did we ever love meat and fruit? I personally love what we would now call savory and sweet. Savory goes to our love of fat, but is so much more.  Ever wonder why just about every Mediterranean dish starts with onion and garlic?  And sweet, only the truly odd do not have a sweet tooth for something.  But some people really don't like pairing meat and fruit. If there was anything available to our Cave Man ancestors to make their meals interesting, it was game over the fire with fruit from a nearby tree.  I personally love to combine fruit and meat.  I make a chicken and apricot tagine that is good year round.  Summers see fish and tropical fruits.  But Fall is my favorite, when roasts and game predominate.  This is the season for roasted meat, and of course fruit.  Apples with pork, cherries with duck, and this recipe for pears.  I love pears, most especially the juicy kind that drips from your mouth.  Mouthwatering is what I think of for savory, luscious dishes like this.  You have to love a recipe that calls for nectar of any kind.  And experienced cooks will know that cooking an onion brings out its sweetness.  Thanks to Bon Appetit for this recipe pairing shallots, pears and pork tenderloin.  Not only is it easy, but it is relatively quick, as well.  Good thing if you were a Cave Man roasting on a spit near an orchard and attracting meat-eaters bigger than you!

    

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

salt/pepper

1 pork tenderloin

3 large shallots peeled and cut into wedges length-wise

3 unpeeled pears, quartered and cored

4 tbsp butter

2 tsp flour

1 1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

3/4 cup pear nectar or juice

    

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.  Mix oil, garlic and chopped thyme in a bowl.  Season tenderloin with salt and pepper and then toss tenderloin, shallots and pears with garlic, thyme mixture. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork and shallots, browning on all sides, about 7 minutes.  Transfer shallots to a platter and pork to a baking sheet.  Roast pork in oven until thermometer inserted into center reads 145 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add pears to same skillet and cook over medium-high heat until brown on cut side, about 4 minutes.  Transfer pears to platter.  Add butter to the pan and melt.  Whisk in flower and allow roux to cook for a minute.  Add broth and pear mixture to skillet, scrapping up bits and whisking to combine.  Boil until sauce thickens.  About 5 minutes.  Return pears and shallots to sauce to reheat.  Slice pork and serve with pears and shallots.