Succulent Braised Pork and Smashed Potatoes
I watched this (or read, I should say) because the TV was on closed captioning, being cooked on one of the cooking channels and decided to try it for myself, and let me tell you, it is spectacular. The recipe is from Melissa d’Arbanian who does simple, inexpensive meals. She used a big pork shoulder for this, but I’m not a fan, so I used a pork tenderloin. It takes less time, too, which is nice. I saw a few changes I wanted to make as she went, so I took the idea home, messed with it, and here’s my version. It makes a lovely meal, and the leftover sauce is perfect tossed in the blender and poured out as a gravy for the mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin
EVOO
Mirepoix (1 onion, 4 carrots, 2 celery stalks) roughly chopped – no need to mince.
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup red wine (something you drink, not something you buy for cooking)
1 ½ cups organic beef broth
2 bay leaves
Parsley
1 cup water if needed
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°
Trim the tenderloin, wash it and dry it with paper towels (always dry your meat before you cook it. It helps the edges crisp and turn golden brown when you brown it.)
In a large Dutch oven, brown the meat in EVOO.
When it’s crusty brown, remove it and add the mirepoix, cook until onions are translucent.
Add the garlic, allowing it to sweat with the veggies.
Stir in the tomato paste, let it cook for a few minutes.
Add the flour, allowing it to cook off, thickening the base.
Whisk in the wine, and reduce by half.
Return the pork to the pan, then stir in the beef stock, parsley and bay leaves.
Don’t cover meat entirely.
Cover the pan and put it in the oven to braise for an hour.
Season and serve over mashed potatoes