Tupelo Honey, Fennel, and Me

 I got home Monday night intending to prepare the Pork Tenderloin with Peach Fennel Salsa from the new Tupelo Honey Cafe cookbook. The tenderloin was thawed and ready to go. I, however, was feeling lazy...on Sunday. And as a result of staying up too late reading Saturday night, I was too tired on Sunday to do much of anything. I could have done some prep work for this Peach Fennel Salsa.

It's not like it's a hard salsa to pull together, but there are some steps that need to be done ahead. It's not one of those throw-it-together-and-head-to-the-table salsas. You need to make some garlic oil (20 minutes plus cooling time) and have peaches unthawed. Or ripe and ready to go, which does not happen in Michigan in March unless you feel PC about using peaches from Chile. I just couldn't buy them, though I didn't hesitate with asparagus from god knows where - definitely not from a farm less than 20 miles away (that's coming from the Swier Family Farm this summer.) So I had no peaches unthawed; instead, they were rock solid and frozen in my freezer.

And the other thing about a good salsa that I've learned. If you' put it together, it's good to give it some time to get together. That is give the flavors time to tango. No time for flavors to dance on a Monday night... I looked at the ingredients for the Peach Fennel Salsa and decided to roast the fennel with some red bell pepper.

I used Joy of Cooking to assist my recipe coup d'état, and The Flavor Bible for help getting the flavors just right. I kept my fingers crossed.

I threw in some salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and just a touch of lemon peel. I mixed it all up with that fancy Whole Fruit Persian Lime olive oil and spread it on a baking sheet. It went into a 375 oven for awhile. I have no idea how long, I just kept watching until it looked roasted and toasted.

Fennel and Red Pepper

The pork tenderloin was a breeze. I have found that for one person, a very small size of pork tenderloin works. I take a typical package from the store and chop the tenderloin in two and freeze. That way I always have a tenderloin in the freezer.

I combined the pork tenderloin with rosemary, olive oil, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and set aside while I worked on Tupelo Honey-Glazed Carrots for a side dish.

I bought a bag of cut carrots, and sliced the carrots into smaller pieces. Then the carrots were blanched in salted water and drained.

The pork tenderloin went into the pan for about 15 minutes - and that's often enough to cook it through. I turned the pork out onto the cutting board and let it rest a bit.

The carrots went into a pan along with butter, salt, pepper, and tupelo honey. Yes, you must use tupelo honey specifically. It takes like springtime in the South, like unfurling flower buds on your tongue.

Tupelo Honey-Glazed Carrots

I also checked on the fennel and red pepper. It appeared to be done so I pulled it out of the oven.

Roasted Fennel and Red Bell Pepper

 In no time at all the carrots were done. I sliced the pork tenderloin, and placed carrots and fennel onto a plate.

The pork tenderloin was lovely. The carrots sublime. And the fennel and red pepper that I concocted on the fly? Fabulous. The dish and the roasting method made me a fennel lover.