Lunch / Dinner
Vanilla Cider Pork with Pears
This supper comes together fast enough to be a busy weeknight option — but it’s so good, you might want to save it for a special occasion!
Multi-tasking is a term that’s thrown around a lot these days, but this recipe is truly pulling double duty. It’s a satisfying, speedy dinner that works as a classy entrée for a fancy occasion, too. Plus, a single sauté pan serves as the only vessel necessary to cook the whole meal.
Pork tenderloin is a fast-cooking meat that goes naturally with pears and cider. Trim any fat from the tenderloin, then cut it into 1-inchthick slices — they cook quickly, without any need to flatten them first.
Hard cider is crisp and acidic, like wine, and tastes great in the creamy sauce — plus, it’s available all year. Pear cider is rarer, but if you can, use it instead — it’s the most natural choice to go with the sautéed pears. Bosc pears are a type of sweet yet tart winter pear that holds its shape well when cooked.
Ingredients
MELT:
DREDGE:
COMBINE:
Test Kitchen Tip
To get the black speckles of vanilla bean seeds at a fraction of the cost (and without the work), try paste. Use 1 Tbsp. in place of one vanilla bean, or exchange for an equal amount of vanilla extract.
Instructions
Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add pears and sauté until lightly browned, 5 minutes. Remove pears from pan.
Dredge pork medallions in flour; season with salt and pepper. Sauté medallions in batches, in same pan, 2 minutes per side, then transfer to a plate; set aside.
Combine broth, cider, and cream; add mixture to pan. Bring sauce to a boil, add vanilla paste, and reduce by half, about 4 minutes.
Return pears and medallions to pan along with any accumulated juices on the plate. Boil sauce until thick, about 4 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
To use a vanilla bean, slice it lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife.
Lightly brown pears, then remove them and sauté pork. They’ll soften further in the sauce later.
Add the pears and pork to the sauce. Boil to heat through, finish cooking, and combine flavors.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per serving
Calories: 419
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 29%
Saturated Fat 11g 55%
Cholesterol 133mg 44%
Sodium 100mg 4%
Carbs 36g 12%
Fiber 4g 16%
Protein 29g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.