My wife’s grandpa randomly gave us a 5 lb bag of poppy seeds the other day, and with our surplus, we figured we ought to get to work! Our first thought was to make a lemon poppy chicken, but he hates chicken with a passion, so we thought we should use a different protein to properly honor our newfound ingredient. Enter: Pork Tenderloin! Rather than sauteeing in a lemon poppy sauce, we decided to encrust our pork tenderloin in poppy seeds, roast it, and then pour a lemony honey glaze over the top of it. In the end, it wasn’t too shabby!
We served our pork over white quinoa with a spinach side salad. However, it would be great served atop Lemon Pepper Mashed Potatoes (if you want to go all in on the lemon flavours) and with a host of veggie options like Asparagus and Morels in Butter, Grilled Zucchini, Roasted Asparagus, or Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower.
Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients:
- For the Pork:
- Pork Tenderloin
- All Purpose Flour
- An Egg
- Poppy Seeds
- For the glaze:
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Flour
- 3/4-1 Lemon
- Honey (variable amount based on your desired level of tartness to sweetness)
- Milk
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with foil. Give the foil a quick oil spray.
- Prep your pork coating station by pouring a little flour into one shallow bowl, a beaten egg into another, and poppy seeds into a third.
- Coat your pork tenderloin in the flour first, and then dredge it in the egg. Lastly, press your pork into your poppy seeds to coat the top, and then place the tenderloin on your baking sheet. We tried to fully encrust our pork with poppy seeds, but the bottom part didn’t work as planned during cooking, and those came off…so we suggest just encrusting the top to avoid wasted poppy seeds!
- Place your pork in the oven, and roast for about 35 minutes (until the internal cooked temperature reaches 160 degrees F).
- About 10 minutes before your pork is ready to come out of the oven, melt some butter in a saucepan, and then whisk in some flour to make a roux. Allow to sit for a few moments as you slice a lemon into wedges.
- Remove the seeds from your lemon wedges, and then squirt it into your roux, add in some honey, and whisk to combine.
- After a moment or two, pour in some milk, and whisk vigorously. The milk may separate at first due to the temperature and acidity already in the pan, but it will come back together in time as you whisk to form a sauce. Allow to simmer on low to thicken.
- When your pork is fully cooked, remove it from the oven, and transfer it to a cutting board. Wait a few minutes, and then slice it.
- Plate, drizzle your glaze over your pork, devour, and enjoy!
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