Harvest Bowl

The most inviting way of enjoying fresh vegetables during the colder months is to roast them. Roasting veggies brings out the sweetness and richness of the vegetables by elevating them drastically. Served with a juicy pork tenderloin glazed in a sweet and tangy maple and mustard sauce this is a perfect fall/winter salad.

Living in Florida, it doesn’t really get frigid cold here so having a fresh salad like this one for lunch or dinner is so inviting all while setting the mood to enjoy these vegetables with a fall/winter feel.

I choose to serve this in a bed of kale but it’s great to serve in a bed of brown rice or quinoa as well. Honestly, there is no wrong way of serving this meal. Swap the veggies, swap the base too, get creative!

The pork loin really does take center stage here though. It is succulent, cooked perfectly and glazed in the most delicious sauce of mustard and maple flavors. Everything else surrounding the pork is an embellishment to the main guy here, which is the pork loin.

The flavors of maple and mustard eco throughout the whole Harvest Bowl. The pork is glazed with both these flavors and I incorporate them in a tangy sour cream based sauce that gets drizzled on top of the salad. I add a little heat to this sauce but that is entirely up to each person’s preference.

This is how I made this Harvest Bowl:

Start by prepping the vegetables: 

Pre heat the oven to 375º. 

Cut off the bud of each Brussel sprout and cut each on in half. Try to keep them as similar as you can in size so they can cook evenly.

Tip! I like Saving the loose leaves because they get crunchy and toasty when they roast, so good! 

Peel and cube the sweet potato. Like the brussel sprouts, try to keep them around the same size so they can cook evenly. 

Trim and thinly slice the shallots. 

Place all the vegetables in a baking sheet and arrange them divided into groups. 

Tip! I like keeping the Brussel sprouts on the edge of the sheet pan so they can have a chance to roast better. The vegetable stuck in the middle will inevitably steam a bit more than roast. 

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil to each group, about 2 to 3 tablespoons per vegetable group. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Bake the vegetables for 45-50 minutes. 

Tip! I like to shimmy the veggies mid bake to help the steam escape a bit and help them roast evenly. 

While the vegetables are roasting it’s time to clean and prep the pork loins. 

If the loins have any excess fat, or silver skin, remove with a sharp knife. Be careful to not trim off the actual loin, work on the surface and remove the silver skin and fat as best as you can. 

Tip! If the silver skin is left on the pork, it will not cook off, it will stay on and be very tough and unpleasant. 

In a large bowl, mix the umami, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and combine well. 

Place the pork loins in the bowl with the seasonings and coat both loins evenly with the olive oil seasoning mix. 

It’s time to prepare the maple mustard sauce for the pork loins. 

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of whole grain mustard, 1/4 cup pf maple syrup and 1/4 cup of water. Combine well. Set aside. 

In a large pan, heat enough olive oil to coat most of the bottom of the pan. Make sure the pan gets nice and hot. We are looking to sear the loins so we want it very hot. 

Once the pan is hot, place the pork loins and try to keep them as apart from each other as possible, if they are too close together, they will steam instead of sear. 

Sear the pork loins on all sides. Once all sides have been seared, pour the mustard maple mixture all over the pork tenderloins. 

Turn the heat off and insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of one of the loins. 

Pork should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145º followed by a resting time of 3-5 minutes. 

A medium rare pork loin will mark 145-150º. A medium cooked will be 150-155º. A medium well, 155-160º. And a well done pork should mark 160º. I personally like to brig the pork to a medium well 155º with a 3-5 minute rest. 

Tip! When the pork is resting, its temperature still rises a few degrees so by the time it’s served I strive for a 158-160º mark on the meat thermometer. 

Place the pork in the same oven as the vegetables are roasting. 

If you have more than 1 oven, bake the pork separately.

If the vegetables are done. Just remove them and let them rest while the pork finishes baking. 

While the pork finishes in the oven, the sauce will thicken. 

Tip! The larger the pan is the more the sauce will evaporate, keep this in mind as we are looking to having sauce remaining to pour over the pork once it’s sliced and served. 

Once the pork has reached the desired temperature, remove from the oven and let rest for 3-5 minutes. 

While the pork is resting, let’s work on the base of this bowl. The kale. 

Kale tends to be tough and dry, so I like to massage it with really good quality extra virgin olive oil and it becomes tender and way more appealing to eat. 

Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of really good quality extra virgin olive oil to the prewashed, roughly chopped kale. Using your hands, massage the oil into the kale. Do this for about 25-30 seconds. 

Tip! Instantly the kale becomes glossy, softer and so much more tender. Do not over mix as it can become wilted. 

Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over the kale and season with some coarse salt.

Toss it well. 

Let’s now take a tangy and (optional) spicy sour cream sauce that brings freshness into the dish. 

In a small bowl, mix the sour cream, sriracha (add more if you want it spicer), a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, maple syrup and dijon mustard. Season with salt and mix well. Set aside. 

Once the pork has rested, slice the tenderloins into 1.5-2 inch slices. 

Assembling the Harvest Bowl:

In a bowl, serve the kale first at the bottom, this will be the base. 

Add the sweet potatoes, a little bit of shallots and the brussel sprouts. Add 2 to 3 slices of the tenderloin and spoon some of the remaining sauce from the pan right on top of each slice. Lastly, drizzle some of the sour cream finishing sauce. 

This dish really has it all. Texture, flavor, all the beautiful fall colors and such abundance of healthy ingredients as well. This is a great addition to any dinner or lunch menu. Enjoy!