pork marbella
80s throwback week!
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If you’re one of my readers who was cooking for your family during the ‘80s, chances are you may have owned The Silver Palate Cookbook. If you’re a child of the ‘80s, maybe you grew up on one of the many infamous recipes from its pages.
In an era where Mastering The Art of French Cooking reigned and home cooks were laboring over their gourmet coq au vin for hours and hours, The Silver Palate liberated home cooks and taught them that delicious food was possible without all of that fuss.
Chicken Marbella is perhaps the most famous recipe from the book. In the original recipe, a cut up chicken is marinated overnight with wine, oil, lots of sugar, vinegar, prunes, olives, and capers. It’s then baked in all of that liquid — and, as we learned in this sheet-pan chicken with orange and fennel recipe, roasting and braising (aka cooking something in a liquid bath) at the same time is a very good idea. The liquid keeps the meat so incredibly moist while it’s roasting, and then it serves as the sauce!
The original Chicken Marbella recipe is a sweet and savory delight, and I’ve simply tweaked the classic dish to make it faster and easier to cook (and eat).
what to cook-style marbella
Pork tenderloin instead of bone-in chicken. I. LOVE. PORK. TENDERLOIN! (As you all know by now.) It is an inexpensive cut of lean protein — think of it as a more flavorful boneless chicken breast. It can be dressed down like in this sheet-pan balsamic glazed pork tenderloin, or it can be dressed up like we’re doing here. This dish is worthy of a dinner party (one reader messaged me that her mom served Chicken Marbella at her wedding!), but easy enough for a Tuesday night. It’s a keeper.
Added a veggie. One of the tenets of What To Cook is that every recipe is a complete dinner meal, and to me that means we need a vegetable (or two or three) in the mix. The original recipe doesn’t include one, and we haven’t used my girl FENNEL in far too long, so we’re throwing it into the mix. It gets caramelized and tender and soaks up the sauce and oh man it’s just so good here.
ALL THE SUBS. There are so many ways to make this dish your own. Be sure to check out the subs section on this one (and always!). Use dried cherries, dates, or raisins instead of prunes! Or a combo of all of those! Omit the olives and capers entirely if they freak you out and make it a pork and fruit dish! I have a few riffs for you below the recipe as well.
Saucier! I always want more sauce when I make Marbella, so I made it saucier! This also allows us to skip the marinade: the extra sauce gives us the flavor we need from skipping the marinade.
No refined sugar. I already consume Buddy The Elf-levels of sugar during the month of December, so I really don’t need 1 cup of brown sugar in my dinner as well. I love using maple syrup here instead (and using a lot less of it!).
dinner party king
Chicken Marbella was the queen of dinner parties in the 80s, so let’s make Pork Marbella the king of holiday 2022 dinner parties! The recipe below is perfect as written for a weeknight dinner, but, for a dinner party, we’re gonna fancy it up a tiny bit by adding:
Appetizer // Christmas Party Dip
Make this entirely in advance, go ahead and put it in a serving bowl, refrigerate until 1 hour before party time.
Serve with fresh sliced baguette.
Salad // The Greatest Kale Salad Ever
Minus the chicken and nectarines, plus some Ina croutons.
Serving an actual salad course is FUN for a fancy holiday party! Bust out your fancy dishes and plate the salad just before guests arrive. The great news about this salad is that it only gets better after being dressed for a little while!
Main Course // Pork Marbella with Couscous and Garlic Bread
Prep ahead to make hosting a breeze. Cook this recipe exactly as is, pausing after you’ve seared the meat and added all of the other ingredients to the pan, but before you roast it. You can refrigerate it at this point for up to 24 hours. Forty minutes before you want to serve dinner, throw it in the oven and cook as written! (It will only roast for about 30-35 minutes, but the meat needs time to rest.)
Cook the couscous up to 24 hours in advance, store it in a microwave-safe serving bowl, then microwave it for 45 seconds to 1 minute right when you’re ready to serve!
Prep this garlic bread up to 24 hours in advance, wrap in foil, and throw it in the fridge. Bake for 15 minutes in the foil and 5 minutes without the foil while the pork cooks. The garlic bread is perfect for sopping up all that EXTRA sauce!
pork marbella with couscous
Serves 4 (with leftover pork!!)
Cook time: ~1 hour (30 minutes active, 25-35 minutes inactive)
Tools:
Braiser, 12-inch cast-iron skillet, or wide Dutch oven (Whatever you choose must be oven safe! If you’re unsure, just Google whichever skillet you have to find out.)
Small saucepan
Ingredients:
2 (1 to 1 1/2 pound) pork tenderloins (packages often come with 2 pork tenderloins in them) *not pork loin*
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups white wine (it truly does not matter which kind, get something you’ll enjoy drinking the rest of!)
1/2 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup pitted prunes, halved
1 cup pitted green olives
1 (3.5 to 4 ounce) container capers, drained
4 bay leaves
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken stock (or water)
1 cup couscous (NOT *Israeli* couscous, which is actually a type of pasta! If you buy that accidentally just cook it per package instructions, it’ll be great too)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro), finely chopped, divided
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Pat 2 pork tenderloins dry and season all over with nice big pinches of kosher salt and black pepper.
Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch braiser, skillet, or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the tenderloins on the first side for 3 to 4 minutes, until a nice golden-brown crust forms, then flip. Add 1 thinly sliced fennel bulb and 4 minced garlic cloves to the pan and use your tongs to stir them around while the pork sears on the second side. When the second side has a nice crust (after another 3 to 4 minutes), remove the skillet from heat.
To the skillet, add 1 1/2 cups white wine, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1 cup halved prunes, 1 cup olives, 1 drained container of capers, and 4 bay leaves.
Place the skillet in the oven (WITHOUT a lid!) and roast for 25 to 35 minutes, until an internal thermometer inserted into the pork registers 140°F.
Transfer the pork to a cutting board (don’t slice it yet — it needs to rest or its juices will all just run out the second you slice it!) and place the skillet on the stove over medium-high. Stir in 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
While the sauce is reducing, cook the couscous by bringing 1 1/3 cup chicken stock or water and 2 tablespoons butter to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in 1 cup of couscous, 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, and a big pinch of salt, cover, and leave it to sit until you’re ready to serve dinner.
Once your sauce and couscous are ready, slice the pork tenderloin into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Arrange the slices on a platter or directly on your family’s plates. Spoon the sauce along with the prunes, olives, etc., over top of the pork. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of parsley over top.
Serve the pork over couscous.
Notes:
Feeding toddlers: My cousin Marlea inspired me to develop a WTC version of Marbella. She has three young boys who can be picky and says they all devour Chicken Marbella. She cuts the chicken up into bites and puts them in one pile, a few prunes in one pile, and a couple olives in another pile. She likes to make hers with orzo which would also be easier for toddlers to scoop up than couscous. Best of luck to all of you! P.S. Yes, it’s safe to serve children food cooked in wine! The alcohol will be cooked out of it while it’s in the oven.
What to cook when you really don’t feel like cooking: Skip the searing step entirely and just put the pork tenderloins and all of the ingredients up until the butter in a baking dish and cook for 25-35 minutes. It’ll be great and a lot simpler.
Prep ahead: This is an excellent meal to prep earlier in the day — or even the day before — so that you can just pop it in the oven before dinner. See the “dinner party king” section in the introduction above for specific notes on timing!
Love your leftovers: I can confirm that pork marbella leftovers make an amazing next-day(s) salad. Throw the pork, olives, prunes, etc. (either warmed or cool) over greens with leftover couscous or whatever grain you have in the house, add some crumbled feta or goat cheese if you have it, some nuts that you love (pistachios would be phenomenal), and a vinaigrette. Delish. You could also chop up any leftover pork and throw it into 15-minute peanut noods tomorrow for lunch! The cooked pork will stay good in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze your leftovers, thaw, and reheat them weeks or months from now. Reheat them in a 325°F oven just until the meat is warmed through (don’t overcook it or the meat will dry out!).
Halve it: This is also an easy recipe to halve, if you’re feeding one or two and don’t want lots of leftovers. Only cook one pork tenderloin — and halve the rest of the ingredients — and freeze the other!
Vegetarian: Sub the pork out for 4 to 6 portabella mushroom caps. Or two cans of drained and rinsed chickpeas! Or a combination of both! Sauté the fennel and garlic as written, then add the mushrooms (and/or chickpeas) to the skillet along with the other ingredients. You won’t have to cook as long — 30 minutes should be plenty.
Dairy-free/gluten-free: Use plant-based butter if cutting dairy. To make this meal gluten-free, swap the couscous for rice (cook it per package instructions) or another gf grain.
Riff options:
Pork and Apples: Omit the capers and olives, use apple cider vinegar, use dates instead of prunes, and add 1 large thinly sliced Honeycrisp apple when you add the fennel.
Pork Tagine: Remember our chicken tagine? Let’s recreate those vibes by omitting the prunes and capers, and adding in 1 cup of halved dried apricots and 1 cup of halved dates. Use chicken stock instead of wine, and add in a big pinch of paprika, cumin, and ginger instead of the oregano.
Substitutions:
Pork: Chicken! Like the OG Marbella. My top rec would be using 1 1/2 to 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (they are so flavorful and almost impossible to overcook). Roast it all at 425°F for 35 to 45 minutes on the center rack of the oven. When the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°F, it’s done! If you prefer chicken breasts, I highly suggest bone-in. They’ll need to cook for 20 to 25 minutes at 425°F (or until 165°F). Boneless chicken breasts only need to cook for 10 to 15 minutes at 425°F. If using the latter, let your fruit and veggies roast/braise for 10 minutes before adding the seared chicken. See “vegetarian” note above for a meat-free swap.
Olive oil: EVOO or any other cooking oil that you have (avocado oil, grapeseed, canola, etc.)
Fennel: Yellow or white onion or skip it
Garlic cloves: 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
White wine: Like I said, it truly doesn’t matter which kind! If you don’t have wine, you could sub in 1 1/4 cups stock plus 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice
Red wine: Balsamic vinegar (ideal sub) or red wine vinegar
Maple syrup: Honey would be delicious! Brown sugar or granulated sugar work too.
Prunes: So many options here: dried cherries, pitted and halved dates, dried apricots, golden raisins … whatever you’ve got!
Green olives: Any pitted olives will do. You could also swap it out for another container of drained capers, OR serve your meal sprinkled with feta cheese. Feta would add a similar pop of saltiness that’s so delicious against the sweetness of the fruit. Or omit!
Capers: Extra olives or omit
Bay leaves: 2 teaspoons dried or 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or parsley
Butter: Omit if needed. We’re using it for added flavor (and creaminess in the case of the sauce), but it will still be a delicious meal without it.
Low-sodium chicken stock: Low-sodium veggie stock, low-sodium chicken or veggie broth, or water
Couscous: I encourage you to use whatever the heck grain you already have in your cabinet here. Do not buy couscous if you already have a perfectly good alternative in the cabinet. Quinoa, farro, rice, whatever. Just cook them per package instructions then stir in the butter, salt, and parsley. Or, skip making a grain and simply serve it with bread to soak up all the sauce!
Fresh parsley: Cilantro, oregano, arugula, any other leafy herb you love, or omit
This is delicious! Make it tonight!
It was delicious - even my olive hating husband devoured it!