Pork Tenderloin Paprikash

It’s absolutely no secret that I love pork tenderloin. The texture and flavor of it couldn’t be more perfect. It’s so tender, it cooks so quickly and it’s really not finnicky. You could easily use chicken breast or chicken thighs to make this if pork isn’t your thing. Actually, chicken is traditional but I had pork tenderloin I needed to use. So paprikash is a traditional Hungarian stew made using a paprika roux base. Don’t think stew stew though, this recipe does not take long to make at all – less than 30 minutes in total, and its ingredients are really quite simple. I prefer my paprikash chunky, I like the texture, some prefer to puree the sauce before adding the meat component, so I’ll let you decide which direction you want to take it. Either way you go – it’s a meal that I’m confident you’ll consistently go to during the week, the kids will love it. I want to know what you think of this one!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb Pork Tenderloin – Chopped into 1″ pieces **SEE NOTES
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Sweet Hungarian Paprika – Divided
2 tsp Sea Salt – Divided
2 tsp Black Pepper – Divided
1 tsp Cayenne Powder *Optional
2 small Yellow Onions – Halved and sliced or diced
1 tbsp Butter or Non-Dairy alternative
4 cloves Garlic – Minced
1 Red or Yellow Bell Pepper – Chopped
2 tbsp All Purpose Flour – Gluten Free or Wheat
1 14oz can Tomato Sauce – Low Sodium
1/2 cup Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt – Reduced Fat
8 oz Egg Noodles or Gluten Free Noodles
1/2 cup or more reserved pasta water *to your preferred consistency

METHOD
-Remove excess fat and slice off silver skin of tenderloin. Slice into 1″ pieces.
-Heat oil in deep fry pan. When hot, add tenderloin and sprinkle with 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Cook until all sides are browned. Meanwhile, water on to boil for the egg noodles.
-When tenderloin is browned, remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.
-Add 1 tbsp butter into saucepan and add onions, garlic and bell pepper. Sprinkle with remaining paprika, salt and black pepper. Saute until onion is golden then add flour. Stir to coat onions and peppers.
-Put tenderloin back in pan with onions and pepper. Cook another two minutes then add tomato sauce and sour cream. Stir in cayenne powder if using.
-If sauce is too thick, add 1/2 cup of pasta water or as much as you want to bring it to your preferred consistency. Let simmer 5-10 minutes and serve over egg noodles.

NOTES
-Same steps and method apply if using chicken breast or thighs.
-The cayenne is not necessary but I like a little bit of a bite of heat. Not too much, but a zing.
-I think full fat coconut milk is a perfectly acceptable alternative to the sour cream in this dish. Especially if you need to make it dairy free. Just use enough to get the consistency you want and skip the added pasta water.

NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serves – 6
Weight Watchers Points per serving – 10 with noodles (7 without)
Calories – 418 (260.2)
Fat – 15g (13.3g)
Fibre – 4.1g (2.5g)
Sodium – 1156.8mg (935.9mg)
Carbohydrates – 40.8g (10.8g)
Protein – 302.g (24.3g)