What's For Dinner?

Mustard & Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

This was so yummy!  I threw a pork tenderloin into my basket at Trader Joes the other day, but I had no concrete plan on how to prepare it.  So I googled pork & thyme and this recipe came up.  I adore all things mustard so I was pretty excited, but it was even better than I imagined it would be.  The crunch of the breadcrumbs and tang of the mustard combine to make a memorable dish!
I served it with mashed potatoes, of course.  Click below for recipe.

Ingredients

1 (1/2-ounce) slice white bread*

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 tablespoons grated fresh Romano cheese**

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard***

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

1 garlic clove, minced

Cooking spray****

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Place slice of bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/4 cup. Combine the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, cheese, and 2 teaspoons thyme in a shallow dish. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Combine Dijon mustard, fennel seeds, and garlic in a small bowl. Rub pork with mustard mixture, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

Place the pork on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.  Serves 3-4.

*I used pre-made panko breadcrumbs, gave a nice crunch.
**I substituted Parmigiano Reggiano, awesome.
***I tried 1 tbsp Dijon, and 1 tbsp stone ground, loved it.
****I'm really snooty about cooking spray, so I baked the tenderloin on my Silpat, and it worked great!