Ah… another Mad Scientist day in the kitchen!
Fridays are the alternating day for dinner with Phoebe and Nancy. Most Fridays, anyway – we do miss the occasional. There’s no competition on cooking – Phoebe’s the better cook, anyway. Besides, we all like to cook and we all like to eat and the real reason is just to get together and catch up on the week, The food is secondary to the company.
That being said, I don’t want to keep cooking the same things over and over, so I do look for ways to put a different spin on things. Friday’s dinner was a great example of this.
We had a couple of pork tenderloins in the freezer and a couple of sunburst squash in the garden calling my name. There weren’t enough to actually serve as a side for 4 people, but they could be incorporated into a side dish!
I found a recipe online from The Mediterranean Dish that sounded promising for the pork…
Mediterranean Pork Tenderloin
adapted from The Mediterranean Dish
Marinade
- 5 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes)
- 1/2 cup olive oil.
Salsa
- 2 thai peppers, chopped
- 1/2 cup each chopped parsley and mint
- 1/3 cup crushed pistachios
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Marinade: Mix all ingredients. Place marinade and tenderloins in a ziplock and refrigerate at least an hour. Grill to desired doneness.
Salsa: Mix all ingredients and serve with pork.
I think the star of the show was the pistachio salsa! The Thai peppers added a goodly – but not overpowering – amount of heat. And pistachios are one of my most favorite nuts – other than friends and family.
The Harvest Blend side uses a Trader Joe product as its base. Harvest Blend is a blend of pearled couscous, orzo, split baby garbanzo bean and red quinoa. It has a bit more body and flavor than plain couscous, but is totally adaptable to any couscous recipe.
Harvest Blend with Summer Squash
adapted from 177 Milk Street
- 1 cup Harvest Blend
- 1 lb asst squash, sliced about 1/4″ thick
- 4 oz sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup sliced onion
- 1 fennel bulb, sliced thin
- 1 cup grape tomatoes
- 3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup lightly packed chopped fresh herbs (mint, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc…)
- S&P to taste
Cook Harvest Blend according to package instructions. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold water and set aside in the colander.
In a large skillet over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the squash, onion, mushrooms, fennel, and a pinch of salt. Spread out and cook without stirring until the bottom slices are well browned, about 5 minutes. Stir, then cook, now stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon oil and the garlic, then cook over medium, stirring, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until the paste begins to brown. Stir in the couscous until well combined. Transfer to the bowl with the zucchini, add the chopped herbs and fold to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
The star of this recipe was the tomato paste! I used the last of the paste we made last year – more will be made as the tomatoes ripen. Not to brag (yeah, right…) but it was far superior to its canned and tubed cousins. Eat with a spoon good!
Another successful meal…