Pork Medallions with Apricot Cream Sauce

Pork tenderloin is my favorite cut of pork.  Cutting the pork into medallions and sauteing them is a quick and easy way to prepare them.  I served this dish for dinner tonight with couscous and brussel sprouts with garlic and olive oil (posted January 19, 2012 on this blog).  Full disclosure:  each of my three children pushed the apricots off to the side and refused to eat them, but they all wanted second helpings, and wished for more after the meat was all gone!  I think the apricots and orange juice give the sauce a nice flavor.

Serves 4-5

1 pork tenderloin, about 1 ½ lbs.

salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

canola oil

1 shallot, chopped

2 TBS orange juice

12 dried apricots, diced

2 cups heavy cream

¼ tsp vanilla bourbon infused sea salt (use plain sea salt if you don’t have this kind)

pinch dried thyme

pinch dried rosemary

Trim fat from pork tenderloin, then cut horizontally into medallions about 1-2” thick.  Cover medallions with wax paper and then pound flat with meat pounder or cast iron skillet.  Sprinkle both sides of medallions with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Heat canola oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute pork medallions for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden brown, in batches.  Place cooked medallions on a plate and cover with foil to retain heat while cooking sauce.  After all pork medallions are removed from skillet, add a little more oil to skillet and add chopped shallots, stirring for a minute or two.  Add dried apricots and orange juice and stir together with shallots.  Add heavy cream and boil until reduced to a thick sauce, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to low.  Add sea salt, thyme and rosemary and stir.  Pour juices from pork on plate back into pan sauce and stir.  Add pork medallions back into pan and spoon sauce over them.  Heat for a minute or two.  Serve.