Orange-Pistachio Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Orange-Mint Cream Sauce

Hallelujah, it's Thursday!! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for this week to be over. I'm thankful for the short week, given that Monday was a holiday and all, but today started off a little rough for me.

You know those days when you accidentally put both contacts in the same eye, then knock over a brand new container of Spark, spilling it onto the counter. No? That doesn't happen to you? Well, apparently my brain and motor skills were a little slow to get going this morning. Thankfully the second contact came right out with no sticking or other potential horrible outcomes. But man...not the best start to the morning, for sure.

After I got J off to work and tonight's dinner in the crock pot, things seemed to move a little more smoothly. Let's just hope the rest of the day continues that way, right??

And this recipe is definitely one that will end any day the right way, regardless of how it started.

I had the idea to make a pistachio-orange crusted pork tenderloin a few weeks back, but the sauce came to fruition while I was preparing dinner. As you may recall, J and I love some sort of sauce with pretty much everything, so I was trying to think of what would go well with this. And then I remembered that I still had some of the mint-yogurt sauce leftover from the Cherry Balsamic Lamb Chops with Mint Yogurt Sauce and I decided to try that combined with the juice from the orange that needed to be used.

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure it would work...but by golly, I was going to try! Who knew that orange and mint were so complementary to each other?? Well, I'm sure someone knew, but it wasn't me! The sauce came out perfectly...a little creamy, with slight orange and mint flavors shining through. And of course the orange zest on the pork really came through! Zest is the best!!

The pistachios gave just the right amount of crunch, and the garlic and orange zest rounded out the flavor profile perfectly. Well that and the sauce, of course! 

Orange-Pistachio Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Orange-Mint Cream Sauce

A Sweet Beginnings Original

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs pork tenderloin (mine came in a pack of 2)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups shelled pistachios
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp fresh mint
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp corn starch

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Trim the tenderloins of excess fat, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. 
3. Using a food processor or hand-chopper, pulse or chop the pistachios until they are coarsely chopped. You don’t want it to be a powder, but you don't want the pieces too big either. Combine the chopped pistachios, orange zest, and garlic and spread out on a large baking sheet. 
4. Heat olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat and swirl to coat. 
5. Take the tenderloins, one at a time, and press each side firmly into the mixture so that it sticks and evenly coats all sides, then place in the heated skillet. Cook for 3-5 minutes per side, until browned. 
6. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through (160 degrees F.) Remove to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing into ½" medallions.
7. While the pork is cooking, add the mint to your food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add the yogurt and pulse on low until well-combined. Taste and add more mint, if desired. Place the mint and yogurt mixture in a small sauce pan, add the juice from the orange and heat over medium, stirring until well-combined. 
8. In a small bowl, combine the water and cornstarch and stir until smooth. Add the mixture to the sauce pan and stir continuously, until thickened. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve. 
9. Serve the pork medallions with the orange-mint cream sauce and enjoy!!