This could be served simply over farro or, as I did here, over a bed of spicy garden arugula with crumbled goat cheese, toasted hazelnuts, avocado, torn mint and an additional drizzle of high quality balsamic.
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
- 1 fat garlic clove, sliced into pointy slivers
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar + more for figs
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey + more for figs
- 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary and/or thyme + whole sprigs for figs
- 8-10 figs, quartered lengthwise
- 1 large shallot, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced into wedges
- Evoo
- Salt and pepper
- Optional salad ingredients as pictured: Arugula, toasted hazelnuts, avocado, crumbled goat cheese, mint, and best quality balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Would also be delicious served over farro.
Method
Prepare a charcoal grill with the embers banked on one side so you have both a hot and cool zone. Alternatively, heat a gas grill with one side set to hot, the other set to medium low.
Prep the pork loin and marinade: Use the tip of a pairing knife to make small incisions into the pork, pushing the garlic slivers into the holes. Genersouly season the loin with salt and pepper. Brush it lightly with evoo. In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar with 1 tsp each of Dijon mustard, honey and rosemary. Set aside.
Prep the figs: Make a make-shift grill tray for the figs using a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and folding up the sides an inch. If you don’t have heavy duty aluminum foil, just fold a larger piece of aluminum foil on top of itself. Scatter the figs and shallot evenly across, drizzle lightly with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little honey. Top with fresh rosemary and/or thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper.
Grill: Place both the pork tenderloin and fig tray directly over the high heat. Sear the pork on all sides, about 3-4 minutes a side; it’s ready to turn when it easily releases from the grill and is nicely caramelized. The underside of the figs and shallots should begin to caramelize. Move both the pork and figs to the low heat side. Baste the pork with half of the balsamic glaze and allow to cook for about 4-5 minutes. Flip, baste with the remaining glaze and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes until a nice crust has formed. During this time, the figs will cook gently, rendering them almost jammy.
Remove the pork and fig tray from the grill. Carefully transfer your figs to a serving plate otherwise they’ll stick to the foil as they cool. Let the pork tenderloin rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing into 1 inch pieces to serve.
Enjoy!
Serves: 2-4 people
