Varkeshaas - Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce

I've been making this recipe for a number of years and every time I serve it to guests I am inevitably asked for the recipe.  It's my all-time favorite pork tenderloin preparation!

The pork tenderloin is first seared on top of the stove and then finished in the oven.  A delicious, light cream sauce with shallots, herbs and wine is then prepared in the searing pan to deglaze all the delicious browned bits.

You can see how juicy and tender it turns out made this way!

To mince the shallots for the sauce, I use one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, a Microplane. I have three different sizes and I use them all the time!

I served the pork with steamed spinach and pureed sweet potatoes but it would also taste wonderful with oven-roasted potatoes and root vegetables or mashed potatoes or celery root and Brussels sprouts. 

Varkenshaas (Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce)

Adapted from La Petite Restaurant, Anacortes, Washington
and found on Epicurious
Printable Recipe

Serves 4

Even if you halve this recipe, you may wish to keep the sauce proportions the same, it is that good!

2 pork tenderloins (1 1/2 pounds total), trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon minced shallot
1/4 cup dry white wine (always Chardonnay in our home)
2/3 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2/3 cup heavy cream (I have used lighter cream and even fat free versions successfully)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Garnish: 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. In a heavy saute pan large enough to hold the tenderloins without crowding, heat the oil and 4 tablespoons butter over medium high heat until sizzling (be careful not to burn the butter), brown pork on all sides, turning occasionally, for 10 minutes. Transfer pork to a shallow baking dish and roast in the preheated oven until a meat thermometer registers 155° F. for barely pink meat, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and shallot to the same saute pan used to brown the meat, and cook over medium heat until softened. Add wine, broth, and mustard ,scraping up any browned bits, and simmer until reduced by almost half. Add the heavy or light cream along with the chopped basil and simmer until thickened. Stir in the chopped parsley and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Pour sauce over pork and garnish with chives.