Cumin Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Veggies

I never know what to do with coriander-- it's not a common spice in every day cooking (for me, anyway). When I tried an Indian recipe several months ago, I had to purchase a bottle of it, so ever since then I keep my eyes open for more ways to use it.

By chance, I opened my paleo cookbook simply to find a pork tenderloin baking time and stumbled upon this recipe. Weirdly, I had all the ingredients excluding the parsnips for which I substituted another root vegetable: carrots. Isn't it colorful?!

While this is technically a paleo recipe, it's just good no matter what health regime you follow (provided you eat meat). And even with chopping the veggies, it's pretty quick to throw together.

Cumin Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Veggies

2 onions, sliced

4 carrots, cut into sticks

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

1 large orange, peeled & segmented

2 garlic cloves, smashed

2 pork tenderloins

2 Tbsp bacon fat (or other cooking fat-- I used butter)

1 Tbsp cumin

1 Tbsp coriander

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt
Black Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small mixing bowl combine cumin, coriander, garlic power, salt, and pepper. Using paper towels, pat down the tenderloins 'til dry and apply spice blend generously to create a crust. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear pork on all sides for about 2 minutes per side.

Place vegetables and fruit on the bottom of a large roasting dish, topped with the tenderloins. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 145 degrees. If you need to continue to roast the produce until they are soft, remove the pork and roast for another 10-15 minutes until soft.

Slice on the bias and serve over the veggies.