Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Olives

This recipe is brought to you in partnership with The California Olive Committee.

Looking for ideas for a special dinner? Consider pork tenderloin! It’s terrific for entertaining. The challenge is that because tenderloin is such a lean, tender cut of meat, it can easily be over-cooked and dry.

You can address this in a couple of ways. The most important thing is to not overcook the pork. Pork tenderloin can quickly go from perfect to overdone, so use a meat thermometer, pay attention and pull the meat from the heat when it gets to the right internal temperature.

Another thing you can do to help keep the moisture in the meat is to marinate the tenderloin in a lightly briny solution. Ideally, a sweet and salty marinade will not only infuse the meat with flavor, but will also act as a gentle brine to help the tenderloin retain moisture as it cooks.

The following recipe is a twist on a classic Mediterranean chicken recipe with green olives and dried fruit. In this recipe I’m using pork tenderloin instead of chicken, and marinating the pork with buttery California green ripe olives, sweet dried figs, salty capers, garlic, and oregano.

Canned California Ripe Olives are perfect for this dish. Mild and delicious on their own, when you brine them with the pork the olives absorb the flavors of the spicy briny marinade. Biting into one of the olives in the finished dish is like biting into a juicy flavor bomb. Paired with the sweet figs and salty capers, the olives make a lovely complement to the pork. 

By the way, did you know that raw olives right off the tree are much too bitter to eat? (If you ever try biting into a raw olive, you won’t do that again, trust me, I’ve tried it.) The olives need to be cured to remove their tannins and bitterness and to bring out their flavor.

A historical tidbit—the method of processing California Ripe Olives was invented in the late 1800s by a woman named Freda Ehmann. Freda’s same recipe is still used to make the canned California Ripe Olives you buy in the store today. Check out her story here!

Pork Tenderloin with Figs and Olives Recipe

If the dried figs are very dry, plump them first by soaking them in water for several hours.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp capers
• 1 teaspoon caper juice
• 3/4 cup California green ripe olives, halved
• 6 dried figs, quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 lb pork tenderloin
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar

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