CHC CANADA 150 FOOD BLOG CHALLENGE Series

I am a proud Canadian. When the Culinary Historians of Canada invited food bloggers to participate in the “CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge”, I knew that I wanted in! What a great way to celebrate and honour Canada’s 150th birthday by featuring a different Canadian dish or discussing a topic which reflects on what it means to be Canadian. This month: The First Fresh Foods of Spring! Savoury Rhubarb Apple Compote with Savoury Pork Medallions is the recipe that I will feature using fresh foods of spring. 

It has been a long, cool, wet spring in British Columbia. The first few leaves of our rhubarb plants and perennial herbs assure me that spring has indeed arrived.

Rhubarb was a staple in the family gardens of 50 years ago – every home garden had its own rhubarb plant in the corner of the plot.   When I was a child, my family and friends typically used rhubarb in sweet dishes. When the first tender stalks of rhubarb appeared, we would pick them and dip the thin red stalks in sugar for a delicious sweet and sour treat. Mom would make rhubarb and apple crumble or use the rhubarb in fruit compotes. As Spring passes into Summer, the broad rhubarb stalks became tough enough to use as hockey sticks. We would pull most of these remaining sturdy stalks and finely chop them to make stewed rhubarb. A bonus crop of more tender new stalks would develop from the plant as long as lots of water was applied during the hot dry summer months.

Gardens certainly have changed over the decades with smaller yards or no yards at all. Rhubarb is not a container garden type of plant with its big root system needing at least 40 litres of soil and compost.   Today, fresh rhubarb is more difficult to find, although frozen rhubarb is readily available.

How we use rhubarb has, for the most part, remained unchanged over the years, with its continued use in sweet recipes such as rhubarb crumbles and crisps. Rhubarb has so much more to offer given its savoury properties. In this post, I share a recipe for Savoury Rhubarb Apple Compote with Pork Medallions that uses both rhubarb and chives as ingredients – two of the first fresh foods of spring.

Savoury Rhubarb Apple Compote with Pork Medallions

CHEF TALK: The recipe that I share in this post is a savoury rhubarb dish called Savoury Rhubarb Apple Compote with Pork Medallions. I like to pair rhubarb with pork and apple as the combination of flavours compliments each other well. The recipe is gluten free, grain free, refined sugar-free, egg free and dairy free.  Chopped chives garnish the dish with a fresh taste of spring.  

Yield:  4 – 6 servings (10-12 pork medallions)

INGREDIENTS:

For the Pork Tenderloin:

• 1 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed of silverskin (please see photos below)
• Quick Pork and Poultry Rub, as needed (rub recipe follows)
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter, optional (for dairy-free, substitute coconut oil)

For the Savoury Rhubarb Apple Compote:

• 2 cups chopped rhubarb, 1/4 – 1/2 inch pieces (about 3-4 tender stalks)
• 2 cups diced apple (about 2 medium apples)
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or raw cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup red wine OR white wine OR juice OR chicken stock
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  

  Savoury Rhubarb Apple Compote Ingredients | urbnspice.com

How to Make Quick Pork and Poultry Rub:

Makes: about ½ cup dry rub

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon paprika

METHOD For the Quick Pork and Poultry Rub:

1. Combine all the ingredients above in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Store in an airtight container. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

METHOD For the Pork Tenderloin:

1. Cut the pork tenderloin into 3/4 inch – 1-inch medallions (I measure the medallions using my index finger, as shown in the photograph below).
2. Sprinkle both sides of the Pork tenderloin medallions with Quick Pork and Poultry Rub.
3. Preheat a frying pan over medium heat.  Add the olive oil and butter.  Add the pork tenderloin medallions once the butter is bubbling. Allow the first side of the pork tenderloin to turn golden brown.  Turn the medallions over to repeat on the other side. Cook until done. Remove the medallions to a plate, cover and allow to rest while you make the compote.
   

   It is important to remove the silverskin from the tenderloin prior to cooking because it does not dissolve or caramelize.

   

   Lifting the silverskin and sliding the blade of the knife across will remove it cleanly and neatly.

   

   The silverskin is now removed and ready to cut into medallions

   

   Cutting Pork Medallions to a finger width slice

METHOD For the Savoury Rhubarb Apple Compote:

1. In the same frying pan, add the diced onion, chopped rhubarb and diced apple. Cook until the ingredients soften slightly (about 5 minutes over medium heat).
2. Add the remaining ingredients:  brown sugar, mustard, wine and apple cider vinegar. Cook the mixture until the rhubarb breaks down and the sauce thickens (about 8 – 10 minutes). Taste the Savoury Rhubarb Apple Compote and adjust seasoning if necessary with additional pork and poultry rub.
3. Nestle the pork medallions in the pan on top of the compote and allow the pork to warm through (about 2 – 3 minutes).

TO SERVE:  Spoon some of the Rhubarb Apple compote on a plate and nestle two pork medallions per person on top.

Garnish: Chives, sliced fine

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

• Butter
• Reductions
• The Simple Spatula

You Might Also Enjoy:

Grilled Chicken Breast with Roasted Strawberry Salsa

Potlatch Salmon – Another Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge Recipe

Apple Cream Pie – The Pie That Stole My Husband’s Heart

SOURCES:

Fruit or Vegetable?

Pink Pork is Safe to Eat

As always, if you give this recipe for Savoury Rhubarb and Apple Compote with Pork Medallions a try, please leave me a comment with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

 

Denise Paré-Watson

The UrbnSpice Chef

 

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