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Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Spicy Pork with Parsnips and Sweet Potato

[cap id="attachment_1261" align="aligncenter" width="300"]On the serving platter[/cap]

There are times you see a recipe and you know it is just right for you. I am not a big pork eater, in fact I don’t really eat a lot of meat, so tend to be fussy about the cuts. But I do like pork fillet, especially if you have a good butcher and you know it will be good.

So when I saw this recipe and video last week on the Martha Stewart site (see below for link) I just had to make it.

The size of the sweet potato and parsnips do matter, as you won’t want big pieces so that they cook quickly in the same time as the pork. A lot will depend on what you can buy at the time … my sweet potato was huge, so I cut in into long chunks similar in size to what I saw in the video, and my parsnips were really small, so I bought 6 and only cut them in half to make them roughly the same size as the sweet potato.

I also doubled the pork tenderloins, and was able to get two x 500g pieces which was perfect for our family of four, with leftovers for the next day.

I have made a couple of slight alternations, but the link to the original recipe is below, but I think pork and pesto and tiny toms are amazing together, and I couldn’t resist adding them … the recipe for the pesto is on this site to.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 -6
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large sweet potato peeled, halved, and cut into long chunks
  • 3 large parsnips peeled, halved, and cut into long chunks
  • 3 tbls olive oil
  • 1 kg pork tenderloins I used two x 500g pieces, fat and excess silver skin removed
  • 3 tbls light muscovado sugar or brown sugar
  • ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper
  • sea salt flakes to drizzle over before baking
  • 1 punnet tiny toms

SAUCE FOR SERVING

  • 2 tbls pesto I used my Basil and Parsley Pesto ... recipe is on this site
  • 2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbls white wine vinegar
  • Sea salt flakes and pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees, fan forced, and place rack in middle
  2. Wash tiny toms and place into a small baking tray ready to go into the oven when the pork comes out
  3. Prepare the pesto “sauce” by mixing the ingredients together, taste and adjust seasoning, put aside until ready to serve
  4. Prepare sweet potato and parsnips and place into a large baking tray
  5. Drizzle over olive oil and toss through veggies
  6. Move veggies to each side of the baking tray, leaving space down the middle to place the meat
  7. Lay the meat on a large plate or cutting board
  8. Mix the sugar and the cayenne together and rub all over the pork … use it all up
  9. Place pork into the baking tray in the space down the middle
  10. Sprinkle sea salt flakes all over the veggies and pork
  11. Bake for 20 minutes, then check, add another 5 minutes if necessary (baking time will depend on the thickness of your pork … it took 25 minutes in my oven, and I can’t eat pork that is too pink)
  12. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes
  13. Place tiny toms into oven and bake for 10 minutes
  14. Serve the pork thickly sliced on a platter
  15. Place veggies around it, and dot them with the tiny toms
  16. Finish the dish just before serving by drizzling the pesto sauce onto the pork, and a little extra virgin olive oil over the veggies
  17. Serve with a lovely big green salad

Notes

Adapted from recipe here