Herbed Roast Pork and Roasted Asparagus with Gruyere

This Herbed Roast Pork recipe came from Cooking Light Magazine (October 2008). They did a wonderful article and recipe collection on the Shakers, and I have found this to be one of the most simple and delicious ways to make a pork tenderloin. I did make one small change to the recipe. The original Shaker recipe calls for 1 1/2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) of butter for the herb "paste" that is rubbed onto the tenderloin. In order to lower the fat, I have replaced the butter with olive oil. Contrary to popular belief, this roast pork can be a quick dinner! This entire dinner plan can be on your table in about 30 minutes.

The Roasted Asparagus with Gruyere is my own creation. Gruyere is a hard, yellow cow cheese from Switzerland. It has a pretty strong, nutty flavor which I think goes perfectly with crisp roasted asparagus. The asparagus recipe is directly following the pork. Place your jelly pan of asparagus in the oven just after removing the pork and roast while the pork rests.

Herbed Roast Pork

• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 2 1lbs. pork tenderloins, trimmed (just cut off any excess fat on the outside of the tenderloins if necessary)
• cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 475°. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Rub oil mixture evenly over pork tenderloins. Place pork on a broiler or roasting pan coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake in oven for 17 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink).
4. Let stand 5 minutes; thinly slice.
Yields: 8 servings of about 3 oz each.

Roasted Asparagus with Gruyere

• one bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed (bend at the bottom until asparagus "pops". You can do this with each asparagus, or you can pop a few stalks and then cut all others at roughly the same point)
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• gruyere cheese

1. Arrange trimmed asparagus in one layer on a jelly roll or other shallow baking pan.
2. Drizzle with olive oil lightly. Toss with hands to evenly coat all stalks.
3. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Toss with hands again.
4. Place into oven (still heated at 475° from the pork!) and roast about 10 minutes, shaking the pan about halfway through to loosen the asparagus. Asparagus roasting times can vary, so watch carefully. You want the asparagus to maintain a bright green color, and be a little wrinkled.
5. Using a cheese slicer, or vegetable peeler, shave thin slices of gruyere on top of the asparagus.

Carb options for others
Not everyone is on a low-carb diet. My husband enjoys his breads, and does not need to worry about weight loss, so I like to provide him with the well rounded meal including carbs. When I made this meal, I simply made some crescent rolls (from a can, I know... gasp) in the toaster oven for him.

I hope you enjoy this first recipe! Again, if you have any suggestions for recipes or another section to include (like wine pairings or alternative side dishes?) let me know!