I recently came home from Trader Joe’s with a big package of figs and no idea what to do with them. In a strange coincidence, later that day I happened to see a delicious sounding recipe from Sur La Table that included figs. It uses Marsala, which I love in Chicken Marsala, but no cream this time. This actually cooks up fairly quickly since the pork tenderloin is sliced. Here is how I made this recipe:
Pork Medallions with Figs
- 12 fresh figs (or you can use dried if you soak in the Marsala ahead of time)
- 1 to 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots
- 1 cup dry Marsala
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Slice off the stem from the figs and then slice in half.
Trim the white fibrous coating from the pork tenderloin. Then slice the tenderloin into 12 slices. Place each slice between two sheets of waxed paper and pound with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until it is approximately 1/4 inch thick.
Sprinkle each slice of tenderloin with salt, pepper, and part of the thyme (use 1/2 tsp for all of the slices).
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tenderloin slices. (The slices can be cooked in batches if they don’t all fit in the skillet at once in one layer). Cook them for a minute or two on each side to brown them. Remove them from the skillet.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the shallots to the skillet. Cook for a few minutes until they soften and turn golden brown. Then add the sliced figs and turn the heat back up to medium-high. Cook these for 3 to 5 minutes, turning them gently to brown. Then add the Marsala wine and let the liquid boil off to reduce the liquid until it thickens (about another 3-4 minutes). Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tsp thyme and balsamic vinegar over the figs. Nestle the pork slices back into the skillet and cook a few minutes more to cook the pork to desired doneness.
I served this with a rice mix and steamed broccoli. Enjoy!
