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Pork is plum good with fresh cherries

Pork tenderloin with roasted cherries
Pork tenderloin with roasted cherries

For having just six ingredients, including salt, pepper and olive oil, this recipe is packed with a surprising amount of flavor.

My plan was to roast a pork tenderloin and serve it with a relish of fresh cherries, jalapeno, lime and cilantro. But between the time I bought the ingredients and when I was ready to cook them, the fragile cilantro went from fresh and perky to stinky and wilted.

Enter plan B: pork with roasted cherries.

There are similar and more complicated recipes out there that call for shallots instead of red onion, add thyme and brown sugar or even a splash of port or red wine. And I'm sure those recipes are delicious. But I wanted something simple. No corkscrew. No deglazing. No fuss.

And this recipe did not disappoint. Roasting deepens the flavors in the cherries, giving them almost plum and winelike characteristics, while the onion caramelizes and mellows.

Brown rice or roasted baby potatoes and a green salad round out the meal.

Pork cooked to 145 degrees with a 3-minute rest is safe to eat, but I prefer the texture of pork cooked to 148 to 150 degrees.

Pork Tenderloin With Roasted Cherries and Red Onion

Olive oil

1 small pork tenderloin

Salt and ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups fresh cherries

1 red onion

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large cast-iron skillet or small roasting pan. Season pork with salt and pepper and place in roasting pan.

Pit and halve the cherries, adding them to the pan with the pork. Cut the red onion into eighths and scatter it over the cherries. Drizzle the cherries and onion with olive oil. Roast 30 minutes or until pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Spoon cherries and onion over sliced pork to serve.

Makes about 4 servings.

Food on 08/10/2016

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