Pork Medallions with Tarragon Mustard Sauce
Cream, tarragon, wine and mustard add up to a sauce that brings a delicate finish to pan-seared pork medallions.
For pork medallions:
- 1 1-pound pork tenderloin, cut crosswise into 6 slices
- salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 generous teaspoon dried tarragon, divided (or 1 tablespoon fresh—see Kitchen Notes)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For sauce:
- Note: If you make the mustard sauce on its own to use with something else, you will need to start with some butter and/or olive oil for browning the leeks.
- 1 cup chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 1 medium—see Kitchen Notes)
- 1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 1-1/2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
Season slices of pork tenderloin on both sides with salt and pepper and half of tarragon. Melt butter with oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and sear until browned on tone side, for about 3 minutes. Turn and sear on second side for about 2 minutes. Transfer to plate and tent loosely with foil to keep warm. The pork is not cooked through at this time; that's okay, it will finish in the sauce.
Make the sauce. Reduce heat to medium and let pan cool for a moment or two. Add leeks and cook until beginning to turn golden, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and remaining tarragon, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Stir in broth and wine, scraping up any browned bits. Boil until mixture is reduced by about half, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
Whisk in whipping cream and mustard. Return pork to skillet, along with any juices. Cover and cook until pork is just cooked through and sauce thickens slightly, about 3 or 4 minutes. Pool a little sauce on serving platter or individual plates and place pork medallions on sauce. Spoon a little more sauce over meat and serve.
Tarragon—dried or fresh? I used dry partly because I had it on hand, I confess. Partly, though, I like the way it starts adding flavor to the dish from the outset. If you cook with fresh herbs, they should generally be added toward the end of the cooking process. I often find that their flavor in that case comes more from biting into actual bits of herbs than in the taste being imparted to the dish. All that said, fresh herbs are the absolute choice in many dishes.
Leeks? Shallots? Onions? I'm a recent convert to the sweet, mild taste of leeks. When I recently made a potato and leek soup, I began by sweating leeks in butter. I wanted to get out a spoon and just start eating them straight from the pan. That said, use what you have on hand or you prefer. All will work just fine.
If you use leeks, clean them carefully—they love to harbor grit. Slice off root end and most of the green tops. Slice leeks in half lengthwise. Rinse under running water, fanning layers to wash out any trapped grit. Slice crosswise in 3/4-inch pieces.