Sometimes, dinner plans just don’t work out the way you want. Take yesterday for example. I’d planned on Madras Shrimp. But the bag of shrimp I grabbed from the freezer case at the market smelled bad. So no shrimp (glad I noticed before I bought it!).

I grabbed a pork tenderloin instead, came home, & stood staring at the spice cabinet looking for inspiration. I had some fresh ginger from the asian market (I went there to get Amchur, which is new to me – stay tuned, I’m going to make something with it in the next couple of weeks), a handful of baby potatoes, a red onion, and some asparagus from the garden.

Sheet pan supper to the rescue! I minced some peeled ginger & garlic in my Mini-Mate, halved the spuds, cut up the asparagus & onion, and tossed it all on a sheet pan with some olive oil. Turning all the spud halves cut-side-up, I sprinkled a little Penzeys Black & Red on them. Then I rubbed some garam masala on the pork, squeezed it in between the veggies, & into the oven it went – 400° for about 25 minutes. 20 would have been better. {11/17/16 I’ve since updated the recipe for those who don’t want to give cabinet space to a whole jar of garam masala, yours truly included. The original seasoning is at the bottom of the ingredient list, in brackets.}

Did you know the best thing to happen to pork? They’ve improved pig farming to the point where trichinosis is no longer such an issue, so you only have to get it to 145°, with a nice pink center. So much more juicy & tender than it was back when we had to cook it well-done!

You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin, ~ 1 lb.

1 large clove garlic

1½ – 2″ piece of fresh ginger

8-10 baby potatoes

8 stalks asparagus

1 small red onion

1 Tbsp olive oil

1½ tsp ground cumin

¾ tsp ground coriander

¾ tsp ground cardamom

¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

⅛ tsp ground cayenne

{ All ingredients past the olive oil may be substituted with 1 Tbsp Garam Masala seasoning, + ¼ tsp Penzeys Black & Red or another ⅛ tsp black pepper plus ⅛ tsp ground cayenne. }

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 400°. Trim pork, and rub all over with Garam Masala.

2.) Mince the garlic & ginger, then stir in the olive oil; set aside.  Halve the potatoes, and cut the asparagus in ~2″ pieces. Slice the onion ½” thick, and cross-cut the slices into quarters. Pile all the vegetables in the center of a foil- or parchment-lined sheet pan. Pour olive oil and minced garlic and ginger on the pile, & toss to coat.

3.) Push the veggies to the sides, and nestle the pork in the center. Spread the veggies out into a single layer, turning the potatoes cut side up. Sprinkle a little of the garam masala over them, if you have any left. (If not, a little salt & Penzeys Black & Red or black pepper will do.) Pop the whole thing into the oven & roast for about 20-30 minutes, or until pork is done & potatoes are fork-tender. Allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into ¾” rounds.

Amy: You do have a plan, don’t you?
The Doctor: No, I have a thing. It’s like a plan, but with more greatness.