Fig-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots

If you like to experiment with unique flavors and try to make food look photo-worthy as well, this one is for you!  One unique ingredient in this recipe is fig preserves. Figs can be eaten fresh or dried and used in jam-making.  You may know figs from such cookies as "fig newtons".  The widely produced fig newton cookie with a filling made from figs.

Ingredients:

2-3 carrots
8 oz Brussels sprouts
2 shallots
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lbs)
1/2 cup red cooking wine
1/4 cup fig preserves
1 oz goat cheese
olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Peel, trim, and cut carrots into 1/4 pieces on an angle
• Trim bottoms off Brussels sprouts and halve
• Peel and slice shallots into 1/4 inch rounds, mince a few slices, resulting in 1 Tbsp. minced
• Pat pork tenderloin dry, and season all sides with salt and pepper
• Toss carrots, Brussels sprouts, and shallot rounds with 2 tsp. olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper on a baking sheet that has been covered with foil and cooking spray. Roast 7 minutes in preheated oven.
• While vegetables are roasting, place a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tsp. olive oil and pork tenderloin to hot pan. Sear until lightly browned on all sides, 2-3 mins per side. transfer pork to baking sheet with vegetables. Reserve pan; no need to wipe clean.
• Place vegetables and pork in oven and roast until vegetables and tender and pork reaches a internal temperature of 145 degrees, 8-12 minutes. Remove from oven and rest pork 5 minutes.
• Over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 tsp. olive oil and minced shallot to hot pan and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add red wine and fig preserves and cook until it thickens into a thin syrup, 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from burner.
• Slice pork tenderloin into 1/2 inch slices. Place vegetables on plate and garnish with goat cheese (breaking up with your hands if needed.) Add sliced pork and spoon red wine-fig glaze over pork.

Tupps Tidbits:  We used feta cheese instead of goat cheese. Feta cheese and goat cheese are both made from the milk of goats. The difference is that feta is also made using sheep's milk.
FYI - We found the fig preserves at Walmart - who would have guessed! Ha!

This was a beautiful dish!  It looked so fancy bu the taste was just "ok",  edible but nothing to brag about. I was hoping for more of a sweet and tangy glaze.  It's super simple to make with a few ingredients which is perfect for weeknight cooking. I doubt we will make this recipe again..so it is NOT A KEEPER in our house.

Where did we find this?  www.homechef.com