PORK TENDERLOIN WITH RATATOUILLE SAUCE

I have this sort of impulsive habit of buying cookbooks and food magazines, flipping though them, oooing and aahing over the pictures and then never actually cooking from them.  The Balthazar cookbook is one of them.  I first heard of Balthazar when two of the restaurant's chefs were on Martha Stewart's old show, the one without the annoying audience and the stupid celebrity guests.  Martha had them make the bistro staple, steak frites.  (There was an obvious sexual tension between Martha and the swarthy, hot Riad Nasr as the two of them giddily talked meat)  A couple years later when I saw that the restaurant had put out a collection of their recipes in a beautiful hard-bound book filled with atmoshperic photos, I obviously had to get a copy.  Since that time, every so often I get it out and look through it vowing to make this, that or the other, but last night I finally actually made one of the dishes and I have to say, I wish I'd done it earlier.  I'm thinking this might be my new go-to cookbook.

INGREDIENTS
(for the sauce)
3/4 cup olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
2 limes
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup arugula, cut into a slim ribbons
2 tablespoons fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

(for the pork)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pork tenderloin cut into 1/2 inch thick medallions
salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD
First make the sauce:  Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a medium saute pan over a medium flame.  Add the onions, garlic and salt and cook for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent but not brown.  Add the red and yellow bell peppers and continue to saute for 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining half cup of olive oil, the vinegar, the lime juice, ginger, red pepper flakes, cumin, and Worcestershire.  Set aside for at least 30 mintues or overnight.

Next make the pork:  Season the pork with salt and pepper. 

Heat a large saute pan over high heat and add the olive oil.  When the oil is very hot but not smoking, add half the pork medallions, being sure not to overcrowd the pan.  Brown each side for about 3 minutes.  Remove from pan, cover with foil, and repeat with the remaining medallions.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the arugula, basil, tarragon, and oregano. 

The cookbook suggested serving the pork over sauteed Mascarpone-Parmesean polenta, but I made just regular old creamy polenta.  To serve, spoon some polenta onto and plate.  Place 3 or 4 of the pork medallions on top of the polenta and then spoon some of the sauce over the top of the pork.  To go along with the pork and polenta, I served an arugula salad with a sherry-tarragon vinaigrette.

So, those chefs at Balthazar really seem to know what they are doing.  The combination of the pork, the sauce and the polenta is glorious.  This is a great dish for company, since the sauce can be made a day before and to make it even easier, I think you could roast the pork, whole rather than sliced up, in the oven so you don't have to stand there dealing with the sauteeing.  And let's talk about the unbelievable sauce.  Now the cookbook does not refer to it as "ratatouille sauce," but Mark pointed out that the flavors are very reminicent of ratatouille, except without zucchini or eggplant.  It's sweet.  It's tangy.  It's a little spicy.  And all the herbs give it a light freshness.  I could just eat it by the spoon full.  I can't wait to try out more of the recipes in the book.

Comments

[Nic]

This looks and sounds amazing. Great job plating, too. One of my regrets - a small one, but a regret nevertheless - is that I passed up a chance to eat at Balthazar the last time I was in NY. Maybe I should pick up a copy of the cookbook....

[Grant]

Definately take a look at it. Some of the recipes are very doable for the home cook, but some of them I find a bit daunting. For some reason anything involving lardons, pork belly, or duck kind of overwhelms me. Also, some recipes call for a small amount of an expensive ingredient that you can only buy in significant quantities. But it's really a beautiful book.

[Rorie]

What beautiful photos of your oh-so beautiful food - I'm a big fan of the Balthazar cookbook, too!

[Grant]

Thanks Rorie! So what have you made from the Balthazar cookbook? Any recommendations?

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I in the stage of mastering this dish.