Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Green Beans and Potatoes

This is a new recipe recently published in Cook's Country. I felt compelled to make it nearly as soon as I saw it while I still had an abundance of green beans in the garden. That time has already passed, so I am glad I hurried to try it out. This recipe makes a convenient one-pan dinner.

Until I make this again (with a camera standing ready), readers are being treated to some of the best artwork anywhere! Call me Napoleon.

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Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Green Beans and Potatoes

Source:  Cook's Country Magazine, October/November 2015

Serves 4-6

To ensure the tenderloins cook at the same rate buy them at similar weight and size. 

For the herb butter:

4 T unsalted butter, softened

2 T minced fresh chives, optional if you really can't find them

1 garlic clove, minced to paste

1/4 teas salt

1/4 teas pepper

For the pork:

2 (l-pd) pork tenderloins, trimmed

1/4 c hoisin sauce

For the green beans:

1 pound green beans, trimmed, left whole, or cut bitesize (you can increase this if you like)

1/4 teas salt

1/4 teas pepper

1 T olive oil, extra virgin preferred but whatever you have

For the potatoes:

2 T oil, see above

1 1/2 pounds (or more) fingerling potatoes or small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved lengthwise

1/4 teas salt

1/4 teas pepper

Place oven rack at lower-middle position and preheat oven to 450F. Mix butter, garlic, chives, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Brush the tenderloins with hoisin sauce, making sure to cover all surfaces. Set aside.

On the baking sheet, toss the green beans with  oil, and salt and pepper. Move to the side and do the same with the potatoes. Place beans crosswise across a rimmed baking sheet, preferably in the middle of the sheet. The beans will make more than one layer so don't plan to line them up in a single row. They'll cook perfectly in a stack. Arrange half the potatoes, cut side down, on both sides of the sheet.

Place the tenderloins next to each other lengthwise on top of the beans, making sure they don't touch one another. They will stretch from side to side. I folded the thin ends under so they wouldn't over cook. 

Roast pork until it reaches 140F on a meat thermometer, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and spread abut 1 T herb butter on each tenderloin. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest while vegetables finish cooking.

Mix the vegetables on the sheet by gently stirring. Return to the oven and roast until vegetables are tender and golden brown. If you know your oven heats hotter at the top or the bottom, you may want to move the rack to help the vegetables brown. It should take 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the vegetables with the remaining herb butter. 

Arrange the vegetables on a platter and slice the pork about 1/2-inch thick. Place slices on the platter and serve.

Note:

Both Betsy and I ran into a bit of a problem the first time we cooked this--neither of us had hoisin sauce on hand. So, here is a recipe for a homemade version if you need it (from Omnivorescookbook.com):

Homemade Hoisin Sauce

1/4 c soy sauce
2 T natural peanut butter, creamy best but use crunchy if that is what you have
1 T honey
2 teas rice vinegar
2 teas sesame oil (great for flavor, but use vegetable oil if that is all you have)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teas black pepper
1 teas miso paste (but if you don't have hoisin, you might not have miso so other possibilities are 1/2 teas Thai Chili sauce plus 1/4 teas five spice powder and if you don't have five spice powder you can make it--http://chinesefood.about.com/cs/sauces/ht/fivespicepowder.htm-- or substitute a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of fennel or star anise).

Stir all ingredients together until well mixed. This can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a month or use it with a Chinese dish.