UnRecipe: Currant Events

My cousin who lives in Sweden inspired this post, along with all the summer berries that have ripened around us. She told me about the five liters of black currants she picked, and then photographed the delicious scones and jams she made from her impressive harvest. We weren't that fortunate with our own berry gathering, only picking whatever was left of the blackberry brambles throughout Duvall, and small currant-like berries from our own backyard. Our modest berry harvest was used for a colorful Pork Tenderloin and Berry Wine Sauce, served with sauteed Swiss Chard.

Pork tenderloin and Swiss chard in a sweetberrahwine sauce - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Yet another recipe-free adventure in MacGyver Cooking-land, this dish was a good way to use up the quickly-softening berries we picked. We were late to the party for gathering blackberries, so most of the bushes had been om-nommed by either people or animals. Too few to bake with, so a sauce seemed like a good solution. After searing the pork tenderloin, I used the same pan with all the delicious drippings leftover to make a wine reduction sauce. I used a bit of pinot noir and threw in the berries when the liquid was starting to cook down. It made for a richly-colored sauce with a concentrated flavor that went well with the mild pork.

Crazy colors of summer: fresh Swiss chard, red currants, blackberries - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We had two bouquet-like bunches of Swiss chard from the Redmond Farmer's Market. They were in a stunning array of colors -- you didn't know whether to eat it or put it in a vase!
We went with the first option and chopped everything up and wilted them down in a hot pan. Chard has a nice peppery, bitter flavor that tastes amazing with a big chunk of meat, or even something creamy like a fried egg. My only disappointment was not buying more, since two whole bunches cook down to maybe enough for a couple of servings. Talk about shrinkage...

My cousin's currant-rich dishes would have made for a great dessert after the berry-sauced tenderloin and veggie side. I'll just have to be content with her photo of the scones and jam. I hope you're as hungry as I am, looking at the goodies she made!

Treats from afar - fruits of my cousin's labor! Photo by Dawn Yoshimura

* Post Script - Serious thanks go out to Serious Eats' Photograzing for posting pics of the Swiss chard and tenderloin!