Pan-Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Molasses

Dinner just can't get any better than this!

Ingredients

• Sauce:
• 1 cup less-sodium beef broth
• 1/2 cup pinot noir or other spicy dry red wine 
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Pork:
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed 
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. To prepare sauce, combine broth and the next 4 ingredients (through honey) in a small saucepan; cook over medium heat 30 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove from heat; strain over a bowl. Discard solids. Add butter to the molasses mixture, stirring with a whisk until the butter melts.
2. To prepare pork tenderloin, preheat oven to 500°.
3. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Combine salt, five-spice powder, and pepper; rub evenly over pork. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan, and cook 1 minute, browning on all sides. Place pan in oven; bake at 500° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink). Let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice pork, and serve with sauce.
4. Perfect wines: Sanford Pinot Noir 2001 "Santa Rita Hills" (Santa Barbara County, CA), $26. This wine's beautiful flavors of earth, pomegranate, grenadine, mocha, and cherry preserves come into focus when you serve it with the pork tenderloin and pomegranate sauce. The sauce also mirrors the wine's wonderful silky, plush texture. As a less expensive alternative, consider the Echelon 2002 Pinot Noir from the Central Coast of California, about $12.

Karen MacNeil, Cooking Light
OCTOBER 2004