Garlic Pork with Tomato and Basil

I love fall! The air is getting crisper, the leaves are turning beautiful colors and it's also harvest time.

Some of you may have planted a garden this spring and this recipe is great to use some of those home grown vegetables in.

Now, I didn't plant a garden myself, but I do have some basil growing and my parents planted tomatoes and have them practically growing out their ears and were all too happy to give me a few. If you didn't plant a garden, don't fret! You can still make this recipe from getting the fresh produce at your grocery store, or even better yet, at your local farmer's market.




Ingredients: 12 oz. pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
2 tsp. cornstarch, divided
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground white pepper (if you can't find white pepper, black works just as well)
3 Tbl. cold water
2 Tbl. Oyster sauce (found in the asin food isle)
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. hot sauce (I use Tabasco)
2 tsp. peanut oil (found by the cooking oils)
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 C. chopped tomatoes (2-3 tomatoes depending on size)
3/4 C. chopped fresh basil
1/4 C. chopped green onions (2)

You're going to first combine the pork, tsp. of cornstarch, salt and pepper Ina small bowl. Toss it all to coat and set to the side. Then, combine water, oyster sauce and remaining tsp. of cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir and set to the side.

Next, heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil in up the temperature (there will be a wave to the oil when you look at it and there might even be little bubbles forming under the oil), add minced garlic. You want to sauté the garlic just until it's fragrant. This will only take a second or two, so pay attention. Garlic minced will burn a lot faster and no one likes burnt garlic... Yuck! Add the pork mixture; sauté 3 minuets or until pork is done.

Add chopped tomatoes; sauté 1 minuet. Add the cornstarch mixture; stir to combine and cook 1 minuet or until thickened. Add basil; stir to combine. Remove from heat, sprinkle with onions.

You can serve this over brown rice, white rice, or even mashed potatoes. I usually serve it over rice, but my husband was in the mood for potatoes, so that's what we had.

This dish only takes roughly 18 minuets to make and feeds 4.

Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

Bon Appétite!