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You are here: Home / reviews / cookbooks / Porchetta Marinade for Pork Tenderloin: Review of Marinades; Rome to Calabria!

Porchetta Marinade for Pork Tenderloin: Review of Marinades; Rome to Calabria!

June 1, 2015 By Laura 9 Comments

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This porchetta marinade for pork tenderloin is a fabulously easy marinade to have in your back pocket. A copy of Marinades: The Quick-Fix Way to Turn Everyday Food Into Exceptional Fare, with 400 Recipes was provided to me by the publisher for the purposes of an honest review. Affiliate links have been used to link to items I am discussing. Recipe is at the bottom of the post.

Typical lunch in Rende, Italy in May 2015

I am SO sorry for the extended silence. At first I was just acclimating to our apartment and new city. And finishing the posts about Rome. Then my mom got here. And then we left for the Amalfi coast, which was amazing and exhausting–every night I opened my laptop and pretty much fell asleep on it. So… yeah.

But anyway, we are now here in Calabria–to be specific, we are in Rende, a university town outside of Cosenza. We have found the local grocery store, the best fruttivendola (kind of a fresh produce store) and a bar (Italian cafe) at which to have cornetti, cannoli and cappuccino every morning. I got prosciutto san daniele and salami from the grocery, cheese (a young pecorino) from the grocery, and seasonal fruits and veggies, as well as bread, from the fruttivendola (citrus, strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, etc). And every day that we are in Rende, this has formed our lunch.

Yum!

Child eating gelato in Italy

But let’s talk about what’s really important. Yes we have scoped out the best gelato and yes it is like 3 steps from our apartment.

Child eating gelato in Italy

Soon they will know us as well as the barista does!

One last bit of minutiae about where we are living: “western” American food is quite the rage here! All of it cowboy themed! You can file that under things I was not expecting in Italy. Here is an example:

Old Wild West menu

No we have not eaten there. Although I will not lie: the eating out choices are kinda slim here. Probably because the area is not wealthy and is student populated. We have been to a surprisingly tasty burger joint. And cooked dinner at home twice (post coming soonish).

OK about this porchetta marinade.

Porchetta Marinated Pork Tenderloin: easy and so delicious!

I found the marinade in Marinades: The Quick-Fix Way to Turn Everyday Food Into Exceptional Fare, with 400 Recipes by Lucy Vasirfirer. This cookbook is the kind of quick fix miracle worker that I turn to when company is coming and I want to serve a hunk of meat instead of a one pot meal. I served this for that Italian themed meal I served to my family right before coming to Italy. When I served it to my family, it was as pork with asparagus and homemade bread. The next day however, I served it with a pasta dish that incorporated the leftover asparagus and morel mushrooms we found (stay tuned for recipe), so it is a versatile marinade.

Traditional porchetta is an elaborate affair, involving gutting, deboning and stuffing a pig before rolling it and tying it! Someday I would love to eat it–but maybe not make it. Vasirfirer envisions this marinade for pork loin, but I took it a step easier still and used pork tenderloin, which of course also made it a healthier dish. Everything about this marinade expresses what I love most about Italian food–and wished I saw more of in American Italian restaurants. Lemon, loads of fresh herbs, some spices, copious olive oil, loads of garlic, and no pasta necessary.

Swoon.

Porchetta Marinated Pork Tenderloin: easy and so delicious!

5 from 1 vote
Porchetta Marinated Pork Tenderloin: easy and so delicious!
Print
Porchetta Marinade for Pork Tenderloin
This recipe should be started the night before serving. Closely adapted from Lucy Vasirfirer.
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Author: TheSpicedLife
Ingredients
  • 7 T extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 t fennel seeds
  • 1/2 t black peppercorns
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 T minced fresh rosemary
  • 2 t minced fresh thyme
  • 1/4 t aleppo pepper or hot red pepper flakes
  • 1 t kosher salt
  • 2 pork tenderloins
Instructions
  1. Place 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl.
  2. Place the peppercorns into a small frying pan over medium heat. Shake the pan occasionally for 1-2 minutes. Then add the fennel seeds. Shake and toast until the spices are fragrant--do not let them burn. It will take around 1 minute.
  3. Scrape the toasted spices into a spice grinder. Grind until coarsely ground.
  4. Scrape the spices into the olive oil and then add the lemon zest, garlic, rosemary and thyme, aleppo pepper and salt. Whisk until everything is evenly incorporated.
  5. Trim the silver skin off of the pork tenderloin
  6. Place the marinade into a ziplock bag and add the trimmed pork tenderloin. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Massage the marinade into the pork. Place into the refrigerator overnight.
  7. When you are ready to cook the pork, preheat the oven to 400 F.
  8. Place a large oven-safe (NOT nonstick) skillet over medium high heat. Add one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. When it is hot, add the pork. Brown on one side, about 6-8 minutes. Turn the pork over and then place in the oven. Roast until desired doneness--for me that is an internal temperature of about 145 F.
  9. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

 

 

Filed Under: cookbooks, Italian, Italy 2015, pork, reviews, travel Tagged With: fennel, garlic, Italy, lemon, marinades, porchetta, pork, pork tenderloin, simple lunches

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Comments

  1. Joanne says

    June 2, 2015 at 7:13 am

    I feel like if I was in Italy for as long as you will be, I would definitely do a fair amount of cooking! Mostly because I’m sure all the produce/cheeses there are way better than what you could get here! Too funny about the cowboy-style food…I guess that’s what they think of Americans!

    Reply
  2. MeinCupcake says

    June 5, 2015 at 6:34 am

    5 stars
    Oh my god, that looks delicious. I am really into Italian Food, so that seems to be a perfect recipe for me. Definitely have to try the marinade. Thank you very much for sharing the recipe!

    Warm wishes,
    Amelie

    Reply
  3. Marlynn @UrbanBlissLife says

    June 5, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    This marinade looks amazing for pork tenderloin! I’ve never noticed a large influx of American “cowboy” cuisine whenever I have been in Italy, but maybe it’s more prevalent there because its a college town? In any case, that’s really interesting! And my daughter would be so jealous that you have the best gelato just steps from your place. I think that’s all she would eat if she lived there 🙂

    Reply
    • Laura says

      June 5, 2015 at 3:36 pm

      I am in the far south–it is its own world down here as far as I can tell. And yes college town may impact it also. Gelato and cannoli and we have a great diet going!

      Reply
  4. Des @ Life's Ambrosia says

    June 5, 2015 at 5:32 pm

    First off, this looks fabulous! And second, I am so so so so so jealous that you are in Italy. I went for my honeymoon in 2007 and again in 2009. I loved everything about it and cannot wait to get back. And more importantly, take my little guys there to experience it. I can see many a gelato stops in our future too!

    Reply
  5. Susan | LunaCafe says

    June 6, 2015 at 12:28 am

    Pork tenderloin is so versatile. Love the flavors in this marinade and I just happen to have two tenderloins in the fridge ready for some inspiration. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Sabrina @ Dinner, then Dessert says

    June 7, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    I love porchetta and want to make it with all belly soon. Love your marinade for a lighter experience though! Also, the pasta on the side of your dish looks fantastic too 🙂

    Reply
  7. Marlene says

    November 20, 2020 at 7:13 pm

    I have used your recipe with pork chops with and without the bone and it works great and now going all the way with the loin! BTW, what do you have on that pasta in the photo? Looks equally tasty.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 20, 2020 at 7:52 pm

      Thank you and good to know. That is a dish made with morel mushrooms and asparagus, so more of a springtime recipe if you live in the States: https://www.thespicedlife.com/mafalde-pasta-morel-mushrooms-asparagus/

      Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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