Island Pork Tenderloin Salad

I found this recipe in Gourmet magazine when I first started to really cook. For me this was way fancy. I honestly had never made anything like this. This recipe is actually the reason I bought an iron cast skillet. It was worth it! It's always a show stopper. It's not only tasty but it also has a great presentation. Pork tenderloin is really so delicious and combined with the avocado, fruit, cabbage and spinach this is a certain winner. I wondered why I didn't make this more often than I do, but realized this really isn't a dish for two or for leftovers. This is something you would want to serve at a nice summer dinner or to really show off at a pot luck. Honestly, though, this is one of my favorite dishes and you just have to try it.

Ingredients

For pork
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil

For glaze
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Tabasco

For vinaigrette
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

Prepare pork:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat pork with spice rub.
3. Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until just beginning to smoke, then brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in skillet.

Make glaze and roast pork:

1. Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat onto top of each tenderloin.
2. Roast in middle of oven until thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140°F, about 20 minutes.
3. Let pork stand in skillet at room temperature 10 minutes. (Temperature will rise to about 155°F while standing.)

Make vinaigrette while pork roasts:

1. Whisk together juices, mustard, curry powder, salt, and pepper, then add oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified.

Prepare salad ingredients while pork stands:

1. Cut peel, including white pith, from oranges with a sharp knife, then cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
2. Toss spinach, cabbage, bell pepper, and raisins in a large bowl with about 1/4 cup vinaigrette.
3. Halve, pit, and peel avocados, then cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Assemble salad:

1. Cut pork at a 45-degree angle into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
2. Line a large platter with dressed salad and arrange sliced pork, oranges, and avocados in rows on top. Drizzle some vinaigrette over avocados and oranges.
3. Pour any juices from skillet over pork.