Dish of the Week: Grilled Pork with Blackberry-Sage Sauce

Blackberries are here! At least where I live, in the Pacific Northwest, the blackberries are starting to ripen in our recent heat wave. I couldn't be happier. We have a giant, wild blackberry bush directly across the street from our house. In June you can smell the blackberry blossoms and the anticipation begins. Nothing makes me smile like stopping to pick a few blackberries on my way back from the mailbox. This will be Sprout's first summer picking blackberries and just know he is going to fall in love...he is a total fruit freak anyway.

To celebrate our first crop of the summer, my mother-in-law made this incredible dish for dinner tonight. I am normally a fan of blackberry desserts, but this savory and sweet dish has won me over.

Note: I did not cook this. I did not create the recipe. I didn't even take picture. I just ate it. Ate and ate and ate and ate it.

Grilled Pork with Blackberry-Sage Sauce
(from Cooking Light magazine)

If your blackberries are particularly sweet or tart, adjust the amount of sugar in the sauce accordingly by 1/2 teaspoon or so to find the right balance.

Yield

6 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces pork and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 3 cups fresh blackberries (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (1 1/2-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
• Sage sprigs (optional)

Preparation

1. Prepare grill to medium heat.

2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots to pan; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add blackberries, sage, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until blackberries break down. Press blackberry mixture through a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Return liquid to pan. Stir in vinegar and sugar; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 9 minutes); remove from heat. Stir in butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring until butter melts. Keep warm.

3. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper over pork. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cover and grill 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink), turning pork occasionally. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve with blackberry sauce; garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

199

Fat:

6.1g (sat 2.6g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:

25.3g

Carbohydrate:

10g

Fiber:

4g

Cholesterol:

79mg

Iron:

2mg

Sodium:

439mg

Calcium:

32mg

Bill and Cheryl Jamison, Cooking Light, JUNE 2009