I love to make pork tenderloin because they can be made pretty quickly and easily during a weeknight and it feels like you are eating an elegant meal. I try to buy them when they are on sale, take one tenderloin out(they are almost always two to a package) and freeze the other for another night. When I went to make this one recently, I found two recipes I actually liked so I ended up combining their ideas into one singular recipe. I took a recipe idea from America’s Test Kitchen along with one from Every Day Health and came up with this roast pork tenderloin with an apricot-orange glaze and black bean and corn relish.

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apricot-Orange Glaze with Black Bean and Corn Relish

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup apricot preserves

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup dried apricots, quartered

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1 small red, yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pat the pork tenderloin dry with paper towels, then season it with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until it is just smoking. Brown the tenderloin on all sides, reducing the heat if the fat begins to smoke, about 10 minutes. Transfer the tenderloin to a plate and set it aside.

Combine the apricot preserves, orange juice, dried apricots and lemon juice in a bowl. Pour off all the fat from the skillet that held the tenderloin. Add the apricot mixture to the pan. scrape up any browned bits and simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Return the tenderloin to the skillet and coat it well with the glaze on all sides.. Roast the tenderloin in the oven until the center of the pork registers 135 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 15 to 18 minutes, turning the tenderloin halfway through the cooking time.

While the tenderloin is roasting, in a small saucepan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat until shimmering. Add the red onion and the pepper and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.Add the black beans, frozen corn, garlic and drained tomatoes and bring the mixture to a simmer. Heat just until the corn is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Toss in the  chopped parsley and mix and the refrigerate the relish for 30 minutes to blend the flavors.

Remove the tenderloin from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board. Tent the tenderloin with aluminum foil and let it rest until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees before slicing, about 10 minutes. Slice the tenderloin and place it on a serving platter and then drizzle it with any remaining glaze that may be in the skillet. Serve the tenderloin with the black bean relish.

This is a very easy dinner that you can make in under an hour and it tastes great and looks like you put a lot of work into it. The glaze on the pork is super with the apricots and orange juice. I even added an apple to the glaze and baked it over the pork for some extra flavor. We all loved the black bean relish as well. It had incredible flavor and would be perfect as a side for a summer barbecue with ribs, hamburgers or even just as a great side for some Mexican food or even sandwiches. We ate the leftovers several times with other meals. You could use fresh corn for this as well and not cook anything in the recipe and simply combine all of the ingredients until they are well mixed if you wanted it that way or even give it a little heat by using hotter peppers in the relish instead of bell peppers. I also made some asparagus and rice to round out the meal.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. As usual there is always plenty more to come. If you ever have any recipes you might like to share, feel free to drop me a note in the comments section, send me an email at IguanaFlats@msn.com or send me a message on Facebook or Twitter. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!