Have you ever paired pork tenderloin with figs? If not, you’re in for a real treat. As you know pork goes very well with fruit, think apples and pork, but when paired with sweet and luscious figs the flavor combination is beyond words!
The pork tenderloin gets marinated for a while, then gets roasted with sweet red onions, green and black olives and plumped out poached fresh figs.
For years, five to be exact, we tried growing our own figs, we have the most beautiful, healthy looking fig tree with enormous leaves, but not one fig has ever been produced, we have a dud, and we might just pull it out this year and attempt to buy another variety and start over, but it’s hard when the leaves look this good.
So in the meantime when I see a display of figs like this I jump for joy and grab a couple of boxes.
The figs were unblemished, in premo condition, sweet and ripe, what more could a girl ask for!
These little jewels got placed into a poaching liquid to cook down and concentrate their flavor a bit, and to create the most delicious, syrupy sauce which will act as a beautiful glaze for the pork tenderloin.
What you have here is a sweet and savory combination that balances quite nicely with the briny olives and herbs.
Make this please, it’s pure decadence!
- 1 pork tenderloin about 1½ lbs. ( silver skin removed)
- 1 dozen fresh, ripe figs, cut lengthwise
- green and black olives some cracked and pitted, a good handful
- 1 large red onion, quartered leaving the stem and root attached
- MARINADE INGREDIENTSFOR PORK
- 2 tablespoons, fig preserves
- 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
- 2 small garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon each of thyme and rosemary leaves
- salt and pepper
- POACHING LIQUID FOR FIGS
- ¼ cup of red wine and ½ cup of water or all water if you prefer
- ¼ cup or so of sweetner, honey, brown sugar or white sugar
- ¼ cup or so of fig preserves or fig butter
- First, you want to poach your figs so they can cool down and have the syrup thicken..
- In a saucepan, on low heat, add everything in but the figs just until the sugar dissolves, then put your figs in and poach them on low until they absorb the flavors and plump up and you see the juice oozing out, depending on how ripe your figs are you may need to add a little more liquid while it's poaching. When finished let it cool down and thcken up.
- Marinate the pork tenderloin by making a paste of the chopped herbs, garlic, mustard, fig preserves, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Rub marinate all over the pork tenderloin and let it sit for at least a half hour.
- Sear the pork tenderloin on all sides, getting a nice golden brown.
- Place the seared tenderloin into a baking dish along with your quartered and fanned out red onion and the olives.
- Add the plumped up and thickend figs all around the baking dish and spoon some of the thick syrup on the top and sides of the seared tenderloin, this will act as a glaze.
- Roast at 400F for 20 minutes or until internal meat thermometer reaches 145
- Let it rest 5 minutes before slicing.
- Make sure each serving has a little bit of everything.
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I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
My husband planted a fig tree almost two years ago. Sadly, our new dog thought he saw a mole and dug to China…and the fig tree (that was generously giving fruit) was collateral damage. So, we have another tree that is thriving, but no fruit, this year.
Yes, yes, yes! Pork and figs are a perfect pairing. I have a pork tenderloin in the fridge, just looking for a recipe and I found it!
Thank you!
Without even trying, I am certain that this is a winning recipe, such a wonderful flavor composition Marie. Perfect for entertaining at this time of year.
I’m running out to get the pork now ~ wow!
We do have a pork tenderloin in the freezer waiting for some TLC — the recipe sounds amazing. I’ve always wanted to grow a fig tree but we travel so much and I don’t know who would water it. But I pretty sure you need 2 fig trees so they can cross-pollinate. Some fruit trees are bred whereby they can produce fruit on one tree but most of the time fruit trees do best when there is more than one. Think of it this way, your fig tree wants company.
I saw this on Instagram and knew I had to make it. It looks so appetizing. I’m so glad you posted the recipe now, because I have to bring a main course to a dinner party on Saturday. I have the pork. Now I just need to find a good supply of figs. The ones you found were really perfect and such a good price. I hope I’ll be as lucky. By the way, I decided my fig tree that produced maybe six figs in ten years, had taken enough space, so I didn’t cover it over the winter, and naturally it died in the cold Northeast winter. I had taken a sapling and grown it in a pot for two years and it was surviving really well, hibernating in the garage for the winter. So I took it to our shore house and we planted it in the ground since all my friends with shore houses tell me they never cover it and it survives. So we didn’t cover it, and guess what? It died! SO, take three, we bought another fig tree. It produced one ginormous and delicious fig (already on it when we bought it in July) and we planted it in the ground and about a dozen new figs sprouted. This winter we may cover it to give it protection from its first winter outdoors. But it seems to have planted good roots, based on the second crop of figs (that I hope will mature before the frost.) Fingers crossed.
So glad you’re going to try it Linda, I know you’ll put your own special twist on it too, can’t wait to see it. I have my fingers crossed for your fig tree, I think we’re saying good-bye to ours.
Looks great. Do you cut the figs before or after you poach them?
Dena they’re cut before.
You need two fig trees so they can cross pollinate in order to get fruit!
Aah, two? So that’s the trick!