What do you make when your sister is coming for dinner? It’s got to be special (because she is), but not so time-consuming that you’re stuck in the kitchen instead of enjoying her company. I thought I’d be brave and try something new that I found on The Spruce, with very few tweaks. I don’t usually serve something I haven’t made at least once before, but I really couldn’t go wrong; we were also having Broccolini Farro Salad, which is a whole meal in its own right, and homemade Coffee Ice Cream for dessert. One could make a case for that being a meal in its own right as well, but I’m trying to at least pretend to eat healthily here!

This has to be one of the most fascinating marinades I’ve ever made. It had my chief taste-tester and sister both stumped. You’d think the unusual combination of cumin and sage would be easy to identify, both being relatively strong flavors. The thing is, they meld so perfectly together that they disappear individually. The result is sublime!

I’d initially planned to rework the recipe for only one tenderloin (two to three servings). It’s not terribly practical to use just half a shallot, though. The marinade freezes quite well, and I ended up using it in my 90-meal plan last summer. I was having some renovations done on both my kitchen and my hip and wanted to have ninety meals frozen so that we could continue to eat well during the no-kitchen phase. Half the marinade went in a gallon zip-top bag, no meat, and into the freezer. It took up very little room that way. When I was ready for it, I just popped a tenderloin into the bag and left it in the fridge all day. The marinade thaws and the pork is scrumptious! So everything below is written for a four-serving batch. It’s up to you whether to cook both tenderloins at once or freeze half the marinade for another day.

The nutrition information I’ve included is going to overestimate a bit. It’s calculated as if you’re going to eat all of the marinade. In reality, some of it gets thrown away when you put the meat on the grill. You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe right below the nutrition chart.

Ingredients:

1 large shallot

2 cloves garlic

4 large fresh sage leaves

¾  tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne

¼ tsp pepper

2 Tbsp dry white wine (or substitute broth or water)

¼ c (60 ml) olive oil

1 or 2 pork tenderloins, about 1 lb each (depending on whether you’re cooking it all or freezing half)

Preparation:

1.) Place the shallot, garlic, and sage in the bowl of your food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until evenly chopped.

2.) Add the dry seasonings (salt through cayenne) and the wine.

3.) With the machine running, drizzle the olive oil through the open tube and process until well combined.

4.) If you’re going to cook two tenderloins, place the whole batch of marinade in a shallow baking dish. If you’re freezing half, divide the marinade into two equal portions. Place one half in a shallow baking dish for using now. Place the other half in a large ziptop bag. Next time you want to make it, just thaw the marinade, add a fresh tenderloin, and proceed.

5.) Add the pork to the baking dish, turning to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

6.) Preheat the grill on high. Immediately before cooking, lightly brush the grill with olive oil. Remove the meat from the marinade and place on grill. Decrease heat to medium. Discard the remaining marinade.

7.) Grill for about 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so, until a thermometer inserted in the middle reaches 145º F (63º C). Remove from the grill, & let rest 5 minutes or so before cutting into half-inch slices.

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