Spiced Applesauce
Have on hand
7 medium apples, cored, and quartered – Pink lady, Rome, or McIntosh work best
Juice of 1/2 lemon, 1.5 tablespoons
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks, or 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1 ½ cups fresh apple cider
A few good cranks of black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, grated on a microplane, plus juice
Small pinch Kosher salt
Directions
In a medium (3 quart) pot over medium heat, combine all of the ingredients. Seriously. Just dump it all in. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Now, it’s going to look a bit like apple soup. Not to worry. Simply get out the potato masher or a stiff whisk and mash/whip/whisk to your hearts content, or until your desired texture is achieved. I, myself, like a few chunks in my fresh, warm apple sauce. If you prefer a smooth texture instead, (could happen) simply process with an immersion wand, the same way as if you were making a soup.
Oven Roast Pork Tenderloin
One 1- lb pork tenderloin, silver skin removed (ask your butcher to do it)
Kosher salt, as needed
A few really good grinds of black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Season the tenderloin with the salt, pepper and cumin. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat a medium oven-safe sauté pan over high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, swirl the pan, and heat until the oil is shimmering/smoking. Immediately add the tenderloin and allow to cook for 1 minute, or until nicely seared/colored.
Using tongs, rotate the tenderloin one-quarter turn and continue to sear. Once seared, rotate again, one-quarter turn and cook until seared. While rotating the tenderloin to the fourth and final side, hold the tenderloin off the pan with your tongs, then insert the digital probe into one end, dead center, half way into the tenderloin, lengthwise, then replace the tenderloin to the pan and immediately pop the pan into the oven.
Set the digital thermometer to 145°F for a little bit of pink (the way I like mine. Otherwise set it for 150°F for less pink). In my oven (depending on the thickness of the tenderloin, give or take a few minutes) it usually takes approximately 13 to 15 minutes to reach 140°F. At which point remove the tenderloin from the hot pan and transfer it to a cutting board to rest.
By allowing the tenderloin to rest after removing it from the oven, the internal temperature will continue to rise, and will eventually plateau (mine hits 152 after 5 minutes). It will then begin to fall (148° after 10 minutes) which means that the juices are beginning to stabilize. Then when you cut into the tenderloin, all of those wonderful juices will remain in the meat, and not be lost to your cutting board. Serve thinly sliced tenderloin with a tasty scoop of spiced applesauce, and enjoy!
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
This is a good recipe. It is easy to make, takes little time, and produces a flavorful dinner. I have made tenderloin before using one of Alton Brown’s recipe but it was a bit too much work. This one is simple and the meat is not burnt at the end. The apple sauce was new to me. I have never made it before and so I was surprised at how easy it is. I excluded the ginger as I am not a big fan of that spice. I also used 7 red delicious apples that I had left over in my refrigerator. I don’t like those apples as they are too bland for my taste but they work well in this recipe. I reserved the pink lady’s I have for fresh eating as I really like their flavor.
Love the recipe. Am presently making it for the second time lol. I have made hydroponic towers since I have trouble getting good enough soil to grow anything except tomatoes successfully so I love that the show integrates gardening with diversity as well as recipes . Love the show.
cannot wait until each sat love growing a greener world the recipes and the gardening thank keep on with the good work
Dear Mr Nathan Lyons;
I watched “growingagreenerworld” on PBS today. I never knew this show existed. I enjoyed the promotion of small organic farms and buying produce locally from these small farmers. The recipe segment came on with your recipe for *leeks and tilapia*. It looked so good that I went to the website and found more recipes. My wife recently had surgery and for a feel good meal I prepared the *pork tenderloin and spicy applesauce*. With your instructions this meal turned out absolutely delicious. My wife and son said if they didn’t see me preparing it, they would have thought some chef prepared our dinner. Thank you so much, and I look forward to preparing more of the recipes from the website.
Sincerely,
Kevin J. Schuettpelz
Hi Joan, Meg and Nathan,
Just wanted to say that I made this applesauce with my own homegrown apples last week and YES! It was as awesome in real life as it was on TV.
Thanks Nathan,
~Theresa
That applesauce was the cause of much drooling & hurriedly-consumed food at my Halloween dinner. A huge success! I used Pink Lady Apples for mine, very yummy. 🙂
Hello Joan! Hello Meg! Thank you both so much for your very kind words of support. I too am looking forward to season two: the wonderful places I hope to see, amazing people I hope to meet, and the delicious recipes I just can’t wait to design for everyone’s enjoyment. It’s so fun to play even the smallest of roles in Growing A Greener World. Plus, to have a supportive group of people such as yourselves? It’s really a dream come true. So thank you for your time, and Happy Holidays to everyone!
About to try this recipe tonight for a Halloween dinner…. eeeee! 🙂
Thank you for a great Season No. 1. Your program is the most informative and I look forward to Season 2 and on. Congratulations! You are a must see. Joan DiDonato