Roast Pork with Gravy {10 WW+ Dinner}

I purchased a pork tenderloin from Trader Joe's at the beginning of the week with the intentions of making pulled pork sandwiches. Well... I never got around to picking up some root beer so it never happened. So I finally decided to make something with it and a pork roast just sounded good. Gravy with that roast sounded even better! Now you can easily omit the gravy making part if you don't want some yummy deliciousness on top of your meat :) Or if you wanted to lessen the points value.

I, for one, thought that the points were totally worth it for this meal. The pork was just perfect and the gravy... YUM! That little splash of wine went a long way. I served this with a quinoa blend and steamed veggies (my favorite frozen Normandy blend from Costco). I think that rice or potatoes would work well with this also. You could even roast the potatoes and veggies with the meat in a separate dish so it all comes out at the same time.

(photo to come soon... my 2 year old got a hold of the memory card and now my computer won't read it :( )

Inspiration: Principia Gastronomica

Roast Pork with Gravy

• 1/4 cup each finely diced carrot, onion and celery
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5lbs boneless pork tenderloin
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 splash white wine

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Finely dice the carrots, onion and celery and set aside.

Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Put your meat fat-side-down in the pan and sear it for 4-5 minutes or until the meat no longer sticks to the pan. Turn the meat over and sear the other side. 
Remove the pork from the dutch oven and place it on a plate. Add 1/4 cup chicken stock to the pan and de-glaze, making sure to scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add vegetables to the bottom of the dutch oven and put the bay leaves on top. Put the meat on top of the bay leaf and vegetables in the roasting tray. Sprinkle salt and pepper all around the outside of your meat.

Add about 1/4 of a cup of your chicken stock to the pan around the meat. Put the tray in the oven and roast  for about 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer stuck in the middle of the loin registers 145 degrees.

Take the tray out of the oven, then take the pork out of the tray and put it on a platter. Cover the pork loosely with foil and let it sit in a warm place while you make your gravy.

For the gravy, add 1 tablespoon of butter to the vegetables. Stir in 1 tablespoon of flour, then stir everything together. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Add another 3/4 to 1 cup of the chicken broth to the saucepan, along with a splash of white wine. Simmer until the gravy has thickened (5-10 minutes), then season to taste. You could strain out the vegetables if you want a smoother sauce, or you could puree them (after removing the bay leaf!) to get a thicker sauce. I used a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables. A few pieces stayed but were very good!

By the time your gravy is done, your pork will be ready to go. Carve it into medium-thick slices and serve it with the gravy and your favorite sides.

Serves 4 | 10 WW+ Points