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Main Courses - Secondi Piatti

Sweet September:
Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce

September 23, 2016 By Deborah Dal Fovo 2 Comments

Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce - Chef Deborah Dal Fovo's signature dish - theartofitalianliving.com

Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce – Chef Deborah Dal Fovo’s signature dish – theartofitalianliving.com

A funny thing happened last week while I was thinking about writing this recipe post: my friend Dorothy invited me to an impromptu dinner at her house. I jumped in my car and headed down the hill before remembering her mention that the fig tree in her garden was particularly bountiful this year. So I turned around and went home to grab my camera in the off chance there was enough evening light to get photos of the figs for my post. Lucky chance. The tree was overflowing with plump, perfectly ripened blue-black figs and I arrived at the magic hour when lighting was superb. Little did I know, however, that Dorothy was making my signature Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce recipe for dinner—the very same dish that I planned to feature in this post! As one of my former cooking students, I taught her to make this dish years ago. Not only did I get beautiful photos and figs for the post but I got to enjoy my dish prepared by Dorothy. How’s that for serendipity?

Figs really do grow on trees! September is the best month to harvest perfectly ripened figs.

As much as I love summer and hate to see it go, I have to admit that September is my favorite month of the year. The last, lingering days of the season bring a special sweetness to our table with intense, sun-soaked flavors of late summer fruits like vine-ripened tomatoes, plums, and…figs. I especially love figs and relish the fleeting moment in late September when they are ready to pick and eat as is or with little embellishment. In Italy, I would patiently wait all summer until the figs on my tree wept a little tear drop of nectar, telling me it was time to pluck them off the branch and bite into their sweet, sensual dolcezza. In fact, this ancient fruit tree is analogous with the warm, arid temperatures of the Mediterranean and considered a sacred plant and symbol of abundance. Its large, fan-like leaves trace back to the Bible as the first clothing worn by Adam and Eve and the succulent, meaty figs represent the divine fruit of the Gods.

Perfectly ripened purple figs rest on top of a weathered wine barrel in this California garden.

Figs’ evanescent nature along with their luscious, honey-like sweetness and unique texture makes them a precious culinary delicacy worth savoring in season. The soft, pear shaped fruit has smooth skin that easily opens to reveal a surprisingly colorful and intricate fabric of flesh woven with tiny edible seeds that tickle the palate and heighten pleasure. Depending on variety and location, fresh figs are available for a brief period from July through late September and range in color and subtly of texture. Kadota figs are soft, sweet, and juicy with thick, green skin and purple flesh and best eaten raw with skin peeled for better digestibility. Brown Turkey figs are sweet and very delicate with purple skin and juicy red flesh. Black Mission figs are the sweetest and least delicate with edible, paper-thin bluish black skin and pink flesh. For this dish, I use Mission figs and the ones I picked from Dorothy’s tree were plump and candy sweet yet firm enough to cook with.

Chef Deborah Dal Fovo picks perfectly ripened figs from the tree in this California garden to make her signature dish of Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce.But figs are not simply a fruit to eat alone or in a dessert at the end of a meal. Their complex flavor and texture lend to exciting pairings with savory ingredients for unforgettable dishes worthy of an annual pilgrimage. Each year, Italian tables are graced with platters of picture perfect figs and vellum-thin slices of rosy prosciutto in the beloved classic prosciutto e fichi. It’s a combination made in heaven—one might say—and worth waiting until late summer/early autumn for.

quartered-figs-and-chopped-shallots

I created my Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce recipe inspired by this magical marriage where candy-sweet figs compliment the salty earthiness of pork. For my dish, I roast pork tenderloin until golden outside and pink inside then slice it into thick medallions. I make the sauce by sauteeing shallots in the pan used to sear the pork and deglaze it with Dry Marsala wine to capture all the caramelized goodness. An addition of good quality balsamic vinegar from Modena adds a rich, seductive note to the sauce as it reduces down to an amber syrup. Lastly, quartered figs are warmed in the sauce just enough to bring out their natural ripeness and coat them with a nectar-like sheen. When I pour the sauce over the roasted pork, it is bejeweled by the glossy, fig-studded glaze and smothered in sweetness. It’s a sumptuous dish fit for a king in both presentation and complexity of flavors yet surprisingly simple and quick to prepare.

Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce is Chef Deborah Dal Fovo's signature dish.

After snapping photos of the tree and figs, I sat down in the garden with Dorothy and David for our obligatory aperitivo before dinner. We raised our glasses to the glowing harvest moon peaking over the horizon, signaling a new season dawning and the close of a season ending with a lingering sweetness that only September can bring.

Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce - Chef Deborah Dal Fovo's signature dish.

**In this video I show TV hosts Spencer and Janelle how make my Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Balsamic Sauce.

 

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH FIGS AND BALSAMIC SAUCE
Filetto di Maiale ai Fichi

Created by Deborah Dal Fovo on September 20, 2016

My signature dish is a sumptuous celebration of seasonal flavors that marries savory roasted pork tenderloin medallions with the ripe sweetness of fresh figs in a luxurious balsamic sauce.  It’s a dish fit for a king in both presentation and complexity of flavors yet surprisingly simple and quick to prepare.        © 2009 Deborah Dal Fovo. All...

  • Prep Time: 15m
  • Cook Time: 30m
  • Total Time: 45m
  • Serves: 4
  • Category: Recipes

Ingredients

  • One pork tenderloin weighing about 1½ pounds/680g
  • 8 ripe yet firm Black Mission figs, wiped clean with damp paper towel and cut lengthwise into quarters
  • 2 tablespoons /30ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons /42g unsalted butter, cold
  • 1 shallot, finely minced
  • 1/2 cup /120ml Dry Marsala wine (dry white wine can be substituted)
  • 2 tablespoons /60ml good quality balsamic vinegar
  • Kosher or sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
  2. Clean the tenderloin by trimming off any excess fat and removing the silver skin (sheath of sinew covering the meat) by sliding a sharp, thin knife blade under the skin and pulling it off in strips. Fold the tail of the tenderloin under if it is long and thin, then tie the pork at 1 1/2-inch intervals with kitchen string to maintain a uniform shape.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Pat the surface of the pork dry with paper towel then season well on all sides with salt and pepper. Place the tenderloin in the hot oil and sear it on all sides until a golden crust has formed, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  4. Transfer the tenderloin to a baking sheet, setting the skillet aside for the sauce. Place the baking sheet in the hot oven and roast the pork until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of its thickest part registers 145°F/63°C, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the pork tenderloin to a carving board, tent loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
  5. Spoon off any excess fat from the skillet and place over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the shallots then season lightly with salt. Cook the shallots for 2 to 3 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Pour in the Marsala wine and bring to a boil while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any bits of caramelized residue. Simmer the wine until all alcohol fumes have evaporated, about 1 minute.
  6. Add the balsamic vinegar and reduce the heat to low. Cook gently until thickened to a medium consistency, adding any meat juices that have accumulated on the carving board. Remove from heat and add the remaining 1-tablespoon butter, whisking to obtain a smooth, glaze-like sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if needed.
  7. Add the quartered figs to the pan and gently toss in the sauce until warmed through and glazed.
  8. Remove the string from the tenderloin and slice it crosswise into ½-inch thick medallions. Arrange the pork medallions in a neat row on a serving platter and pour the fig sauce over top.
Source: Deborah Dal Fovo
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Filed Under: Main Courses - Secondi Piatti, Recipes

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About last night…I had the immense honor of repr About last night…I had the immense honor of representing Italian cuisine 🇮🇹 for the opening reception of prestigious Italian kitchen appliance brand @bertazzoni_official at their gorgeous new showroom in San Francisco. My menu featured enogastronomic delicacies from the company’s home region of Emilia Romagna like @parmigianoreggiano , @acetobalsamicomodena , mortadella, @prosciuttodiparma_it and paired regional wines. I was too busy to snap many photos, but did manage a few (scroll to view).

A big ‘grazie mille’ goes out to Alana and Tammy at @mixedgreenseventdesign , proprietors and staff at @purcellmurray , and my amazing staff especially arancini queen @beatrice.bmerry ; ). No rest for the weary today though…I’m back in the kitchen preparing more goodies for another event tomorrow. #cheflife

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After 40 plus minutes of hard work by my father to make perfect polenta like his mamma taught him (she was a strong woman), he would turn the pot of polenta upside down (with appropriate caution and aplomb)and tip the soft-yet-set polenta cake onto a pristine linen covered board on the dinner table. Voila’! Dinner is served to wide eyed, hungry girls anticipating this heavenly, yellow mush cut into slices and topped with sausage, fontina, braised pork shank, or other traditional Alpine accompaniments that my mother prepared to a “T” as her mother-in-law did. 

I served my polenta soft and spooned out of the pot then topped with rustic pork ragu’. Mmmmm, homemade comfort on a fork 💛. For all you polentoni (polenta lovers) out there, buon appetito!

#italianchef #italiancooking #italiancuisine #alpinecooking #trentino #trentinoaltoadige #dolomites #polenta #comfortfood #polentoni #rusticfood #homecooking #madewithlove #foodislove #cookthemountain #foodmemories #italiansdoeatbetter
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💚 RISI E BISI ~ VENETIAN RICE AND PEAS 💚

This seasonal Venetian dish was historically served to the Doge every year on April 25th, the feast of St. Mark and patron saint of the city. The name, ‘Risi e bisi’, in local dialect means rice and peas and is traditionally made with the same amount of sweet springtime peas as grains of rice with enough broth to create its signature consistency midway between risotto and a thick soup. I added some sausage to make it extra tasty 😋 but it’s also made without or with a bit of pancetta. 

Risi e Bisi is one of my favorite comfort foods…perhaps for its brothy reassurance or the fond childhood memories I have of my Nonna’s cooking and me eating it 💚💚. 
What’s your favorite comfort food?

#italianchef #italiancooking #italiancuisine #cookitalian #venice #venetiancuisine #rice #risiebisi #peas #springtime #spring #springcooking #Springtimecooking #comfortfood #nonnaskitchen #nonnasitaliankitchen #risotto #soup #zuppa
‘Fregula Sarda ai Frutti di Mare’ {Sardinian F ‘Fregula Sarda ai Frutti di Mare’ {Sardinian Fregola Pasta with Fruits of the Sea} was an excellent idea for Holy Saturday dinner last weekend 😋. These tiny semola pasta pearls are cooked using the risotto method of adding hot seafood broth a little at a time until plump, tender, and bursting with flavor. I added clams, calamari rings, shrimp for a 'godurioso’ {very pleasurable} one-pan meal.

#italianchef #italiancooking #sardegna #sardinia #fregola #seafood #fish #pasta #pastapower #pastalove #semolapasta #cookitalian #cucinasarda
🕊Buona Pasqua~Happy Easter🕊There’s no bett 🕊Buona Pasqua~Happy Easter🕊There’s no better way to wish you 
Happy Easter than by sharing my Neapolitan Pastiera. This heavenly dessert tart is a sweet, buttery short crust pastry with a creamy filling of cooked wheat berries (I used pearled barley), ricotta, eggs, sugar, candied orange + citron peel, and orange blossom water. 7 pastry strips crisscross the surface by tradition creating diamond shapes before being baked to a deep golden brown and dusted with powdered sugar. Each bite is an ethereal experience 🥰. 
Have a blessed and delicious day 🙏!
🕊Only one week until Pasqua 🐣and I’ve got 🕊Only one week until Pasqua 🐣and I’ve got a special dish for your Easter feast! My Torta Salata Pasquale ~ Savory Easter Tart is a modern riff on the traditional Torta Pasqualina from Genova. Instead of the sky-high oil crust with greens, ricotta and whole eggs, I created an open tart filled with neat layers of savory spinach, ricotta, fontina cheese, bits of ham, and creamy egg custard in flaky butter crust shell adorned with decorative beccucci (beak) border. 
🐣
This tart was inspired both by one I spied in a gourmet shop window in Milan and the Torte di Pepe of Camaiore that I enjoy every year during my home-away-from-home visits. 
🐣
Delicious as an appetizer for Easter lunch or main course for Pasquetta picnic (Monday after Easter)…or any Spring celebration for that matter. This tart can be eaten warm with fork and knife as an ethereal delicacy or at room temperature as a pickup slice to eat sans silverware. 

I hope you make and enjoy my tart for your Easter/Spring celebration. You can find the recipe on my blog by tapping the link in my bio or visiting: http://www.theartofitalianliving.com/savory-easter-tart-recipe/

Buona Pasqua from my Italian kitchen to yours 💚🕊
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