Marinated pork tenderloin

In principle, this recipe is very similar to my favourite fish dish of this summer, grilled salmon in balsamic and chive marinade and Nigella's grilled steaks with lemon and thyme. You first cook a simply seasoned piece of meat or fish till done to your taste, and _then_ marinate it. Slice and serve. Perfect for hot summer days (when you don't want to switch on your oven) or some casual weeknight entertaining (when you're too busy to prepare the dish after a long day's work).

Again, the recipe is adapted from the Swedish Lantliv Mat och Vin - one of our recent favourite food magazines out there (the others being French Regal and Finnish Glorian Ruoka ja Viini). I used white port instead of white wine, and I bet it would work with Marsala or Madeira just as well (if you prefer using wine, take 200 ml wine and 100 ml water).

Marinated pork tenderloin
(Marineeritud seafilee)
Serves four to six (or more as part of a buffét)



1 pork tenderloin (about 500 g)
butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade:
100 ml white port
200 ml water
0.5 Tbsp salt
3 bay leaves
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Heat the butter on a frying pan over a moderately high heat, add the pork fillet and fry until golden brown on all sides. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for about 15 minutes, until the meat is cooked. Season generously with salt and pepper, leave to cool a little.
Place all the ingredients for the marinade into a small saucepan. Bring into a boil, simmer for a few minutes.
Place the meat into a suitably sized container, pour over the marinade. Cover and place into a fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until the flavours develop.
To serve, take the meat out of the marinade, and cut it into thin slices.

Beautiful, oh-so-easy and you can use your preferred herbs.