LIGHTNING-FAST TAHINI PORK

Makes 4 servings

Pork tenderloin should be called “the cook’s best friend.” It can be braised

or roasted, sliced into cutlets and pan-seared or cut into cubes, as it is here,

and quickly skillet-cooked in a sauce that’s got more complexity and flavor

than you’d expect from anything this easy. The sauce, which lightly coats the

meat, gets its creaminess from a small amount of tahini and its sophisticated

flavor from spices most closely associated with North Africa. Because of the

tahini, a paste made of ground sesame seeds, I like to finish the dish with a

sprinkling of the same seeds.

If you don’t have tahini in your cupboard, you can use an equal amount of

creamy peanut butter and, if you’d like, finish the dish with chopped

peanuts instead of sesame seeds.

Sautéed spinach is delicious with this.

½ teaspoon harissa powder or chile powder

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, or more to taste

1 pound (454 grams) pork tenderloin, cut into 1½-inch cubes

2 tablespoons tahini (stirred well before measuring) or creamy peanut butter

Juice of 1½ lemons

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons water

Freshly ground pepper

Chopped fresh cilantro, for finishing

Sesame seeds, for finishing

Stir together the harissa or chile powder, ginger, cumin, turmeric and salt to

blend. Toss the pork with the spices, coating all sides.

Mix the tahini with 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The tahini will

thicken, and that’s fine.

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet — I like nonstick for this — over

medium heat. Add the pork cubes and cook for a minute or so, just to brown

them on all sides. Pour in the honey, stir to coat the meat and cook for

1 minute. Add the vinegar, quickly followed by the water, and stir to deglaze

the pan, picking up whatever bits have stuck to the pan. Lower the heat, stir

in the tahini mix and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is smooth and

the pork is cooked through. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining

lemon juice, taste for salt and season with pepper.

Turn the pork out onto a serving platter and sprinkle with the cilantro

and sesame seeds.

S TO R I N G : While you can keep any leftovers in the refrigerator overnight

and reheat them gently the next day, the dish is really best just-made.