Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Fig Relish and Acorn Squash with Butter Sauce

I recently purchased Cooking Light's new cookbook, Fresh Food Fast. The idea behind the cookbook is the recipes are only 5 ingredients and take 15 minutes to prepare. I'm a big proponent of clean eating and cooking with fresh organic seasonal foods so a five ingredient approach is perfect for me. This book has come in handy during this busy holiday season. This pork tenderloin dish was really easy to make and I loved the combination of flavors. I'm a big fan of figs and they paired perfectly in this dish. As suggested I served this with a side of acorn squash with butter sauce. It was hard to believe this dish was so fast to make.

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Onion-Fig Relish

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spry
8 dried Mission figs
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 (8-ounce) container refrigerated prechopped onion (I used one red onion)

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and pepper; coat with cooking spray. Heat a medium sized cast iron skillet or other ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook 4 minutes or until browned on all sides, turning occasionally.

3. While pork browns, coarsely chop figs. Combine vinegar, 2 tablespoons water and soy sauce in small bowl. When pork is browned, remove pan from heat. Add figs, onion, and vinegar mixture to pan, stirring to loosen brown bits.

4. Bake, uncovered at 425 for 15 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160. Stir onion mixture; cover pan loosely with foil. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Yields: 4 servings

Acorn Squash with Butter Sauce

1 acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Pierce squash several times with a sharp knife; place on paper towels in microwave oven. Microwave on High 1 minute. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Discard seeds and membrane. Cut each squash half lengthwise into 4 wedges. Pour 1/3 cup water into an 11x7 inch baking dish. Place squash, cut sides up, in pan. Cover with plastic wrap, turning back 1 corner to vent (do not allow plastic wrap to touch food). Microwave on High 10 minutes or until tender.

2. Place butter in a small microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave at High 20 seconds our until butter melts. Stir in syrup, nutmeg, and salt. Spoon sauce over squash wedges. Yield: 4 servings.

Fig Ice Cream

I love fresh figs and it seems there appearance is always so fleeting. I found some Texas figs at our local market and decided this ice cream would be a fun recipe to try with them. My figs were not the beautiful purple of the mission figs so my ice cream was a tan color rather than purple as shown in the picture of the Perfect Scoop. I also thought my ice cream yield on this recipe was much less than other recipes I have made. I thought the fig flavor in this recipe was really nice. I probably wouldn't want to sit for a bowl of this alone, it needs a compliment. It paired really well with the gooey chocolate cakes.

Fresh Fig Ice Cream

2 lbs fresh figs (about 20)
1/2 cup of water 1 lemon, preferably unsprayed
3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of freshly squeezed, lemon juice, or more to taste

Remove the hard stem ends from the figs, then cut each fig into 8 pieces. Put the figs in a medium, non reactive sauce pan with the water, and zest the lemon directly into the saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8-10

minutes until the figs are tender.

Remove the lid, add the sugar and continue to cook until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Blend together with cream and lemon juice, chill in the fridge and then put in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.

Source: Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas and Sweet Accompaniments, Ten Speed Press, May 1, 2007.

It's Fig Season!

I love figs! I'm not sure how it started but once I discovered figs, both dried and fresh I was hooked. Fresh figs are only available a short time so you have to grab them when you see them. Unfortunately, they can't be frozen. In the winter months I like to use dried figs in salads, baking and roasting. My husband and I visited Napa/Sonoma several years ago and I fell in love with The Girl and the Fig Restaurant. Their fig salad is delicious. My husband bought me the cookbook so I could recreate some of the recipes at home. I also purchased Fig Heaven which is full of yummy fig recipes. Although I didn't make this recipe exactly as directed it was delicious. The figs, bacon and goat cheese are a perfect match and serve to complement the roast chicken well. I served this with brown rice and a spinach salad with blueberry basil vinaigrette. Below is the recipe for the chicken with my changes. I hope to showcase more fresh fig recipes soon.

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Fresh Figs and Goat Cheese
As Adapted from Fig Heaven by Marie Simmons

4 large boneless and skinless chicken breast halves, fillets removed (I used bone-in chicken breasts with the skin on and stuffed the filling under the skin)
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup diced fresh green or black figs (about 6 figs)
1/2 cup crumbled, well chilled goat cheese
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
4 slices pancetta or bacon (I used bacon)
1/2 cup dry white wine (I omitted)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (I cooked mine at 350 since I didn't use the boneless).

2. Place the chicken breasts smooth side up on the work surface with the thickets portion to your right. Butterfly the breast by cutting through the thick side toward the tapered side so you can open the breast like a book. Sprinkle the butterflied chicken inside and out with 1/2 tablespoon thyme leaves, pinch of salt and pepper. (I omitted this step)

3. In a small bowl combine the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of thyme, the figs, the goat cheese, 1 tbsp olive oil, the garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and a grinding of black pepper. Toss to combine. Spoon the stuffing onto one side of each chicken breast, dividing it evenly. Close the chicken over the stuffing. Wrap a slice of pancetta around each chicken. Hold the breast closed and the pancetta in place with a toothpick or small metal skewer. (I omitted this step and stuffed the filling under the skin).

4. Oil a large 13x9 shallow baking dish with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place the chicken breasts in the pan and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes. Turn and roast the other side until cooked through, about 10 minutes. (I cooked mine at 350 degrees for about 45-55 minutes).

5. Remove the pan from the oven, transfer the chicken to a serving platter and cover with foil. Add the wine to the pan and heat to a boil over high heat, scraping the browned bits and reducing wine to syrup about 5 minutes. Drizzle wine over chicken and serve. (I skipped this step).