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Lemony Scaloppine of Pork

I like this in winter with rice, or with mashed potatoes mixed, maybe, with mashed parsnip or another root vegetable. In summer, it’s good with almost anything from the garden.

Ingredients

3 thin slices pork tenderloin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
All-purpose flour for dredging
1 teaspoon light olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
4 very thin slices lemon, plus 1/2 lemon for squeezing
1 fat shallot, sliced paper-thin
2–3 tablespoons chicken broth or water
1 1/2 teaspoons capers, rinsed
A scattering of chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

  1. Place your very sharp chef’s knife flat on top of the pork tenderloin about 2 1/2 inches from the thicker end. Tilting the knife slightly on the diagonal, slice off one quite thin scallop, moving from where you inserted the knife toward and off the end. Repeat two more times to make three slices. Pound the scallops gently to an even thickness, salt and pepper them lightly, and dredge them in flour. Heat the oil in a skillet just large enough for the three scaloppine, then add the butter, and when it is sizzling, lay in the meat along with the slices of lemon and shallot. Cook the scallops over medium-high heat for less than a minute on each side, then remove to a warm plate. Squeeze most of the half-lemon into the pan, add the chicken broth (or water), and boil down until lightly thickened. Toss in the capers, and return the meat to the pan just to heat through. Taste to see if it needs a little more lemon and/or salt. Spoon everything onto your warm plate, and scatter a little parsley on top.

The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved. Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.
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