Glazed Pork Loin With "Salad Bar" Salad

While tearing through the aisles of my local supermarket, I noticed they had completely remodeled the salad bar. They had added new, lighter dressings (like the lemon one I used here), more vegetable variety and - best of all - precooked grains. While the pick of this week was wheat berries, they told me they're also cycling in quinoa, farro, bulgur and barley. Pairing a quick-cooking piece of protein like a pork tenderloin with the helping hand of fresh, natural and already prepared ingredients from the salad bar is definitely an ace in the hole for a quick dinner.
  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings
  • Total: 50 min
  • Prep: 30 min
  • Cook: 20 min
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Ingredients

For the glazed pork loin:

1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil

2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed

Salt and ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Sriracha

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons apricot preserves

For the "salad bar" salad:

2 cups prepared grains, such as farro, wheat berry or quinoa

2 cups greens, roughly chopped as needed, such as spinach, rainbow chard or kale

1/4 cup pitted black olives, roughly chopped

1/4 cup prepared vinaigrette, such as lemon, balsamic or sesame-ginger

Salt and ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
  2. Place a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat with the oil. Season the pork liberally with salt and pepper, and sear it in the skillet until deep golden brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes total. 
  3. While the pork is searing, in a small bowl stir together the Sriracha, hoisin and apricot preserves. When the pork is brown on all sides, slather both pieces with the prepared sauce. Transfer the skillet to the hot oven and finish roasting the tenderloins until cooked to your liking, about 12 minutes for medium. 
  4. While the pork is in the oven, in a large mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients for the salad. Season as needed with salt and pepper. 
  5. To serve, thinly slice the pork and plate it up alongside the salad.

Cook’s Note

Like I said earlier, my local market is cycling out the offerings of its salad bar based on what's seasonal and available. That works perfectly with this quick and hearty salad, which can really be made with any combination of things you like.

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