Pork Tenderloin in Lemon-Caper Sauce

The sauce in this dish is delicious, so serving with something that sops up the extra is ideal (mashed or roasted potatoes, polenta, orzo, white rice, etc. Oven fries would work too).

If you want, you can make most of this an hour or so ahead so that it's easy to complete right before dinner. Go all the way through step 4 (pork seared, sauce made). Leave it on the stovetop and then proceed by heating the sauce up again and adding the pork medallions.

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin

• Salt and pepper

• 2 Tbl. olive oil

• 3 Tbl. butter (divided)

• 1 small shallot, minced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 Tbl. flour

• 1 cup chicken broth

• 1/2 cup white wine (or use 1/2 cup more chicken broth)

• 1 Tbl. dijon mustard

• 2 Tbl. capers, drained

• 1 tsp. lemon zest

• 1-2 Tbl. lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Salt and pepper the pork tenderloin well.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and then add the olive oil, swirling to cover the bottom of the pan. When it's hot add the pork tenderloin. Sear it on all sides so it's nicely browned, but not cooked through. Remove it from the pan and set it aside to rest.

3. Reduce the heat to medium. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet. When it's melted, add the shallot and garlic and sauté until it's barely softened, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the flour cook, stirring it regularly, for another 2 minutes. Whisk in the broth and wine, raise the heat to high to bring the mixture to a boil. Stir to scrape up the browned bits in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-high and let it cook until the liquid is reduced about in half. This will take 5-10 minutes.

4. Add the dijon, capers, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Add the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter and stir until melted and the sauce is smooth. Taste the sauce and add more lemon juice if you want, and salt and pepper if needed.

5. Slice the pork tenderloin into 1 inch medallions. Nestle the pieces into the sauce and cook at a gentle heat until the pork is cooked through (but still very lightly pink).