Dinner is Served: Rosemary Tenderloin & Orzo

I made a couple of holiday meals this year - but about that time I was in a blog slump, so I’m just now getting around to posting some of the yumminess that I concocted back then.

This particular recipe is for the slow-cooker, because I’m in a slow-cooker phase, since I have a new one. This turned out about 20X better than I hoped for. It was so good. This is actually a request from my mother-in-law (hi Jennifer!) who was one of the taste-testers on Christmas.

The finished dish, with a sprinkle of cheese.

The inspiration was a recipe from Made Simple (Side Note: would you believe this book is not available from Amazon? First book I’ve ever seen not available there.) I don’t know about you but I’m completely unable to follow a recipe, so after el jumpo you’ll find my approximation of page 64’s “Rosemary Pork.”

Rosemary Tenderloin with Red Wine Orzo

• 1 tenderloin (just the typical grocery store size, whatever that is). A regular pork loin just won’t cut it for what I have in mind.
• sea salt & fresh pepper
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or thereabouts
• 6 lg sprigs of rosemary
• 14 oz chicken broth, 14 oz vegetable broth. Adds more vegetable flavor than just chicken, which is good in a dish with simple, strong tastes.
• 1 large clove garlic, halved
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I favor garlic, fair warning)
• medium sweet onion, minced (approx. 3/4 cup) - sweet onion, like Vidalia, is definitely better for pork. Also, I never mince onion very fine, and in this recipe it ends up really tender so don’t kill yourself mincing.
• 1 cup orzo - opting for pasta instead of rice was el accidento but its water-and-flavor absorption made it the better choice. Risotto would have been too creamy, making the dish practically soup.
• 1 cup red wine - ye olde Holland House will work, but a sweet shiraz/syrah is much, much better. Not a red wine fan? Sherry is also good. Perhaps also a glass while cooking to get in the mood?
• 3/4 fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Tie up the tenderloin halves with string in 4-5 places. I also tend to rinse/pat dry my meat. Cut a piece of garlic in half and rub the tenderloin with the halves, then season that puppy to your particular taste.

Heat a large skillet on med-high with some drizzles of olive oil - maybe 1-2 tbsp. when hot, place 4-5 sprigs of rosemary in oil in a line the same size as the tenderloin. Place tenderloin on top of the rosemary and brown on all sides, shifting so rosemary stays under the tenderloin. Next, tenderloin goes into the slow-cooker. I had to cut mine in half to fit, side-by-side. Put the rosemary aside to cool.

After 4 hours in the cooker … mmm…

Add enough broth to pan to loosen those “browned bits” the recipe books always talk about. Add a bit more olive oil, maybe a tbsp, and the minced onion. Cook ’till translucent, add the garlic and saute maybe 30 seconds more. Emeril (he and Bobby Flay are my heros) tells me to always add the garlic at the end of sauteing and not let it go long or it gets bitter.  I believe him.

Next, add orzo to skillet and saute until the orzo begins to brown. You know, just like the Rice-a-Roni meals. Not that those ever get eaten here, we’re all gourmet all the time. Departing from boxed-meal familiarity, add in the red wine and the rest of the broth and mix it up.

Pour orzo/onion/garlic/wine/broth mixture into slow-cooker around the tenderloin. Now at this point you can either (1) add the rosemary stems and all in hopes the leaves don’t fall off the stems while cooking and you can remove the pieces later or (2) remove the browned rosemary leaves and put ‘em in the cooker along with some extra for more flavor, because you know the cooker will tenderize the h* out of it and it will be safe to eat later. Guess what I did.

Cook on high 3-5 hours. I believe we cooked it 4.5 hours. Every 45 min. to 1 hour, check it and stir it around, making sure everything’s combining and the roast is covered. Smell the deliciousness. You will know you are done when the tenderloin is literally falling apart and there’s pretty much no liquid left because it’s all been absorbed by the orzo.

You will not be able to slice this roast, you’ll have to “settle” for incredibly tender chunks and spoonfuls of orzo. I recommend sprinkling your serving with some of that fresh Parmesan cheese while you’re at it.

EAT!