This is a pork dish I developed a year or two ago for a potential restaurant menu. The plantain really sweetens and softens while it cooks, lending a complimentary flavor to the pork. Yes, I use Jasmine rice. I hate clumpy, gummy rice and I get the best results with Jasmine. It takes about 15 minutes to make the rice. This meal usually takes me about 45 minutes to cook and the pork comes out perfectly tender, juicy and flavorful.
Ingredients
1 package pork tenderloins (usually has 2 tenderloins)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 TB Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp powdered garlic
2 TB olive oil
1 ripe plantain
1/2 TB sugar
pinch of salt
2 15oz cans of black beans or boil your own
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 of a green pepper, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp finely minced fresh garlic
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sherry vinegar
2 cups Jasmine rice
1 pkg frozen, peeled yucca
1 lime
Method
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (yes, 500)
In a glass baking dish, combine soy, mustard, paprika, ginger, garlic and 1 TB of olive oil. Open the tenderloins (over the sink) and then trim off any silverskin. (The ones from Publix needed no trimming.) Place the tenderloins in the marinade flipping over to coat. Put in fridge. Dice the plantain in 1/4′ dice and put in a small saucepan with the sugar and 2 TB of water. Cook over medium heat until softened at least halfway. Remove from heat and let cool. Cut a slit in the tenderloins about 1/2 an inch from each end lengthwise. Don’t cut all the way through, but most of the way. Stuff with plantain. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn down the heat to 350 degrees F and roast for another 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes or so before slicing into medallions. Serve over the yucca mash with the pan drippings drizzled over the top and any plantain that escaped. While the pork is cooking, complete the steps below.
In a medium saucepan, saute green pepper with remaining 1 TB of olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add beans, wine, bay leaf, oregano, fresh garlic, cumin, and sherry vinegar. Bring up to a simmer. Season to taste. Cook Jasmine rice according to package directions. Cook yucca according to package directions. Save 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Mash and add 1/2 TB of salt and some of the cooking water until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes. Zest and juice the lime. Add a tsp of zest and squeeze the lime juice over the yucca. Stir to combine. Check for seasoning. Serve the rice with black beans on top next to the pork over the yucca.
