Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage

One-pot cooking is a tempting dinnertime tactic – the dishes are easy to prepare and cleanup is minimal. But when you can produce flavours like the ones in this recipe, the technique becomes stellar. Each element blends with the others: the sweetness of the pork and cabbage, the tang of the spices and the richness of the sauce that holds it all together. It makes for great leftovers – I often add in another piece of tenderloin – and can be made with either chicken or a solid white fish like halibut instead of pork. The perfect starchy side? Rosti cut in quarters or individual potato pancakes.

Servings: 3 to 4

Ready Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

4 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced

1 tsp ground fennel seeds

1 tsp ground coriander

Pinch cinnamon

500 g (1 lb) pork tenderloin

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 apple, peeled and diced

1/2 cup red wine, divided in half

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 cup plus 1/4 cup chicken stock

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add cabbage and bring back to a boil. Boil 1 minute, drain and refresh the cabbage with cold water. Drain well and set aside.

Combine fennel, coriander and cinnamon. Sprinkle over pork tenderloin, and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a skillet large enough to hold pork, or cut the meat into large sections to fit into the pan. Add pork and sear on all sides until browned, about 2 minutes a side. Remove pork and add apple and cabbage. Sauté until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of wine, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil. Add pepper flakes and 1/4 cup of stock and return pork to the pan, reduce heat to medium-low. Cover skillet and cook tenderloin for 10 to 15 minutes, or until a touch of pink is left in the centre.

Remove pork and cabbage from the pan. Let pork rest 5 minutes.

To make the sauce, add remaining vinegar, wine and stock to the pan. Reduce on high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until thickened. Whisk in butter to finish.

Slice pork and serve with the red cabbage and apple mixture. Drizzle with sauce and garnish with parsley.

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