Something Old, Something New

For tonight’s meal I prepared something old and something new. The old was the Potimarron Squash Judy and I discovered while taking a cooking class in Paris (for recipe see November 8, 2010). The new, a Sweet and Spicy Pork with Festive Fruit Salsa.  This is a sweet and savory dish that takes a little bit of time to prepare, but your effort won’t go unrewarded. It’s fresh, fruity and delicious.

I unexpectedly found the Potimarron Squash at our local Farmers Market last Saturday while shopping for this week’s dinner meals.  The vendor where I located the squash told me that he knew it as a Sunshine Winter Squash. It’s about the size of a softball and bright orange. The meat of the squash is dense and not at all stringy, like a pumpkin. No matter what the name is, I thought it was a great find. I couldn’t wait to get it home and cook it.  I felt it would pair perfectly with the Pork dish.  It did.

Delicious “Lite” meals, from our kitchen to yours. Enjoy the adventure.

Sweet and Spicy Pork with Festive Fruit Salsa

Ingredients

Sweet and Spicy Pork, Fruit Salsa and Potimarron

2 Tbsp Ginger Root, fresh, chopped

3 cloves Garlic, chopped, medium

1 Tbsp Jalapeno pepper, fresh, chopped (do not touch seeds with bare hands. We’ve discussed this before). Set aside about 1 tsp of the chopped Pepper for the Salsa

2 Tbsp Lime juice, fresh

½ oz Rum, about 1 Tbsp (more or less)

2 tsp Honey

1 tsp Allspice, ground

2 tsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 pound Pork Tenderloin, lean, trimmed of all visible fat.

1 medium Grapefruit, pink, skinned and sectioned, sections cut in 2 – 3 pieces each

1/3 cup Honeydew melon, diced

½ cup Pineapple, diced

½ small Red Onion, sliced into thin slivers

1 tsp of remaining Jalapeno Pepper, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F

Place Garlic, Ginger, 2 tsp of Jalapeno, Lime juice, Rum, Honey, Allspice, Soy sauce, and Oil in a blender or food processor and blend on high for about 30 seconds or until all ingredients have blended to form a smooth loose paste.

Place Pork in a non-stick baking dish and pour marinade over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap and roast Pork, turning the baking dish halfway through cooking, about 20 – 25 minutes.  Pork is done when internal temperature reaches 160°F.

To make Salsa, peel grapefruit, remove segments, cut segments into 2 – 3 pieces each. Combine Grapefruit, Honeydew melon, Pineapple, Onion and remaining teaspoon of Jalapeno Pepper in a medium bowl. Toss to coat.

Allow Pork to rest 5 minutes after cooking. Then, slice the tenderloin into 16 slices.

Yields 4 servings.  Each serving includes 4 slices of Pork and a Heaping ½ cup of Salsa.  Weight Watchers PointsPlus value per serving is 5. Level of difficulty is Moderate. Prep time is 35 minutes. Cooking time is about 30 minutes.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photo by Barry Baruh