Noodles with Roast Pork and Almond Sauce with Honey Oranges

WOW. This meal was awesome! It totally made up for last night's lackluster pork dinner. The noodles are nice and spicy, and the simple side dish really refreshes your palette. We were surprised at how much flavor the oranges had...and we drank up all the extra juice after. The only issue we had with this meal is that it only made ahem 2 servings for us ;)





Noodles with Roast Pork and Almond Sauce with Honey Oranges
Cooking Light October 2009

Yield 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)
½ teaspoon canola oil
½ pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
½ teaspoon salt, divided
¼ teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
¼ cup almond butter
2 ½ tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 ½ teaspoons chili garlic sauce
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh mint

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Drizzle oil in an ovenproof skillet. Sprinkle pork with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper; place pork in pan. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Turn pork over, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°. Place pork on a cutting board; let stand 10 minutes. Shred pork into small pieces.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons pasta water; keep pasta warm.

4. Combine almond butter, 2 tablespoons pasta water, remaining salt, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and chili garlic sauce. Divide pasta evenly among 4 bowls; top evenly with sauce, pork, onions, and mint.

For the Honey Oranges:
Peel and section 4 large oranges over a bowl, reserving excess juice. Combine juice, 1 tablespoon of honey, and a dash of ground allspice; stir with a whisk. Add orange sections to honey mixture, toss to coat.

Wine note: With a hint of candied nut to complement the almond flavor in this recipe, Hardys Stamp of Australia Chardonnay 2008 ($7) makes a great value pairing. Clean citrus and baking spice notes highlight the dish's pepper and ginger flavors. For the best value, grab the 3-liter box ($19) --Jeffery Lindenmuth

Nutritional notes:
Calories: 398
Fat: 12.7g (sat 1.9g,mono 7.2g,poly 2.3g)
Protein: 22.7g
Carbohydrate: 49.3g
Fiber: 3.7g
Cholesterol: 34mg
Iron: 3.7mg
Sodium: 763mg
Calcium: 83mg

MacGourmet Rating: 5 Stars