I’ve mentioned before that my Italian cooking adventures all began with the great books by Biba Caggiano. One of my favorite recipes from one of her earliest books, Modern Italian Cooking, is the one for sweet and sour pork. She uses pork loin, but I’ve always used pork tenderloin instead since it is more tender. This dish is original, delicious, and easy to make. It cooks quite fast as the tenderloin is cut into slices and it is best when cooked to medium rare or medium. Give it a try!

Ingredients

For 2 servings

1 pork tenderloin (about 300 grams / 0.67 lbs)

180 ml (3/4 cup) dry white wine

80 ml (1/3 cup) good-quality white wine vinegar

4 Tbsp sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

salt and freshly ground black pepper

flour for dusting

Preparation

Cut the pork tenderloin into 2 cm (.8″) slices crosswise (with one or two slices left at the thin end).

Rub pork slices with salt and freshly ground pepper on both sides and dust lightly with flour.

Heat the butter and oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the pork slices when the butter foams.

Sear over high heat until golden, about 1 minute per side. Move the pieces around to prevent the butter from burning.

Take the pork out of the pan and put them on a plate, leaving the fat behind. Add garlic and sage and stir for 1 minute over low heat.

Add wine, vinegar, and sugar (in that order).

Increase the heat and stir for a few minutes until reduced to about half.

Return the pork slices to the pan. Lower the heat and cook them, turning and basting, for 2 minutes (for medium rare) to 4 minutes (for medium).

Take out the pork slices and arrange them on hot plates. Meanwhile, increase the heat and cook until the sauce is thick and syrupy.

Taste and adjust the seasoning of the sauce. Spoon some sauce on the pork slices and serve immediately.