Recipe from Charlie Palmer’s Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen
Published by Melcher Media, 2006

Roasted Pork Tenderloin
+ Thyme-Roasted Apples
+ Sautéed Spinach

Serves 1

1              Pork tenderloin, silverskin removed
                Vegetable oil  
1              Golden Delicious apple, unpeeled, cored and 
                quartered    
2-3 T        Unsalted butter  
3              Spigs of fresh thyme
1              Big handful of spinach, washed
2 T           Toasted pine nuts
                Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Season the tenderloin with salt and black pepper. Pour just enough oil into an ovenproof sauté pan to cover the bottom of the pan and heat it smoking hot. Sear the tenderloin on all sides, then reduce the heat to medium. Toss in the apple pieces with the butter and thyme and move the pork and apples around to coat them with butter and herbs.

Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the pork for 7 to 10 minutes, depending on how you like it cooked. Baste the meat occasionally with the pan drippings and turn the apples to keep them moist.

Take the pan out of the oven and transfer the pork and apples to a plate; cover loosely with foil to keep warm. If there’s enough butter left in the pan, go right in with the spinach; if not, add a little more butter. Sauté the spinach until wilted, toss in the pine nuts, and season with salt and pepper. Slice the pork, spoon the spinach and apples onto a plate, and arrange the sliced pork over the spinach. Spoon any remaining pan juices over the apples and sprinkle the pork with a little sea salt.

Photo: Charlie Palmer's Roasted Pork Tenderloin