This one started with the side. The rich-tangy-crunchy combo of avocado-orange-jicama is so appealing that I’d have it with about anything. I’ve served it with grilled shrimp, piled atop sauteed chicken, as a refreshing foil to the slight char of grilled flank steak.
Here the salad cozies up to chili-spiked pork tenderloin, spicy heat against cooling fat and sweet citrus. I like the trio of ingredients’ proportions to be about equal. You might monkey with the amounts to achieve that end, depending on the size of the produce you find. Jicama is that gnarly-on-the-outside, crisp-on-the-inside root vegetable found in Mexican groceries and many supermarkets. Put a vegetable peeler to the job of denuding it, or a sharp knife — cutting downward toward the cutting board and following the curves around the bulb.
Pork Tenderloin with Orange-avocado-jicama Salad
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 23 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped in 1/2-inch dice
2 oranges, peeled, segmented, chopped in 1/2-inch dice
1 cup chopped jicama, in 1/2-inch dice
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp. blanco or reposado tequila, optional
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground chilies, such as ancho, chipotle or arbol (or chili powder)
2 pork tenderloins
1/2 cup dry sherry, dry white wine or light red wine
Chopped cilantro or parsley
Stir the avocado, orange, jicama, 1 tablespoon olive oil, orange juice, tequila and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a bowl.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; season the tenderloins with the ground chili and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, turning to brown all sides, 8 minutes. Stir in sherry, scraping the bottom of the pan; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, occasionally basting the meat with the wine, until tenderloins are cooked through, 15 minutes.
Serve the tenderloins, sliced against the grain in thin pieces and sprinkled with the fresh herb, accompanied by the salad.
Nutrition information per serving: 519 calories, 28 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 155 mg cholesterol, 15 g carbohydrates, 51 g protein, 415 mg sodium, 7 g fiber
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