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Polish Style Pork Tenderloin with Potato Dumplings | WednesdayNightCafe.com

Polish Style Pork Tenderloin with Potato Dumplings

Polish style pork tenderloin is topped with a creamy mushroom sauce and served alongside homemade potato dumplings (kopytka) and bacon-kissed kale.
Course Dinner, Main Dish
Cuisine Eastern European
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 5

Ingredients

Potato Dumplings

  • 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 cup flour, plus additional for your working surface
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 3 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, divided

Pork Tenderloin

  • 3 slices bacon, chopped
  • 2 pork tenderloins (roughly 2 1/2 pounds total)
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 20 ounces baby portabella/ cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup chicken or beef broth
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 bunch kale, deveined and chopped
  • fresh chopped dill for garnish (at least 2 tablespoons)

Instructions

Potato Dumplings

  1. Put potatoes in a pot and sprinkle some salt over them. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and let potatoes cool for at least 15 minutes. (While you are waiting, start making the pork.)
  2. Mash potatoes by hand or using a blender or food processor. Add mashed potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Add flour, whole wheat flour, sour cream, egg, and salt. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
  3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Dust your cutting board or counter work space with flour. Have a small dish of flour nearby to flour your hands and your work space as needed. Transfer dough to cutting board and knead for 1 to 2 minutes, until you can work with the texture. If the dough is very dry and crumbly, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time. (The first time I made this, I didn’t need to add any water. The second time I added 2 tablespoons. It depends on how much moisture is in your potatoes.) Break off a handful of dough at a time. With your hands, roll the dough into strands about 1 inch thick. (If the dough comes apart as you’re rolling it, you can squish it back together and keep going.) Cut the strands of dough on a diagonal into 1 ½ to 2 inch pieces.
  4. Drop half of dumplings into boiling water. Stir just a little to prevent them from sticking. When the dumplings rise to the top, cook for 3 minutes longer. Remove dumplings from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon butter. Then cook second half of dumplings. Add to the first batch and toss with 1 more tablespoon butter. Cover to keep warm.

Pork Tenderloin

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Heat a large cast iron or other oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until browning, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate.
  3. Season pork with salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium-high. Add pork tenderloins to the pan with the bacon fat and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Turn with tongs to get all sides browned.
  4. Turn off heat and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. (While pork is roasting, continue to the next steps to make the sauce and kale.) Remove tenderloins to cutting board and loosely tent with aluminum foil. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
  5. Make the sauce: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release their juices, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon flour and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Add broth and cook for 5 to 10 more minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Right before you eat, mix in sour cream.
  6. Make the kale: Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pot, saucepan, or large skillet (really whatever you have left at this point). Add kale and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in chopped bacon and cook 2 more minutes.
  7. To serve: Divide dumplings, sliced pork tenderloin, and kale between serving plates. Spoon the mushroom sauce over pork and dumplings, or serve on the side. Garnish with dill.

Recipe Notes

The potato dumplings can be made ahead fully cooked and reheated in the microwave. (Do not refrigerate raw dumplings before cooking.)