Fun with Foam

With a basket of soon to be past their prime apricots, and a desire to try my hand at incorporating a foam into a dish, this creation was the result:

Habanero-Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin with a Honey Balsamic Foam, Three Chile Cheese Potatoes, and Haricots Verts


Glaze:
6-7 Apricots, halved, pits removed
1 cup simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar)
1 habanero, split
1 tsp. salt

Puree apricots with simple syrup until smooth.
Simmer liquid with habanero until reduced by about 3/4 (glaze consistency.)
Remove habanero and season. Reserve.


18 oz. Pork Tenderloin, trimmed of fat/silver skin.
Season with salt and pepper.
Sear all sides until golden brown.
Brush with glaze, and roast at 350 F on a rack until medium (internal temp of 150-160.)
Remove from oven, brush with more glaze and let rest, covered, about 10 minutes.
Slice.

Foam:
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 T. honey
2 T. water
1 tsp. mustard powder
2 g. soy lecithin

Combine all with immersion blender and froth. Spoon foam from the top and serve.

Potatoes:
2 large russet potatoes, peeled
1 anaheim, 1 poblano, 1 new mexico chile
1/4 cup colby cheese, grated
1 T. butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
canola oil, as needed
salt and pepper as needed

Rub chiles in oil, roast at 400 F for about 10 minutes (until skin is black and bubbly.)
Remove, cover with plastic, and let cool.
Remove skin and seeds/stems, dice.

Cook potatoes until soft. Run through ricer (smoother texture, can be mashed if desired.)
Combine riced potatoes, butter, cream, cheese, and chiles (off the heat) and stir to combine.
Season and serve.

Haricots Verts:
2 large hand-fulls Haricots Verts (about 12 oz. or two servings)
1 T. butter
Salt and Pepper as needed

Remove stem ends.
Blanch in boiling water for about 3 minutes.
Shock in an ice bath (to stop cooking.)
Saute in butter.
Season and serve.

The result is a fabulous and well-balanced meal, and if I may say so, my new personal favorite pork tenderloin preparation. The main point of this exercise was to experiment with the use of foams as a sauce, and I think in this application it worked well. The foam had a very strong flavor, with nice sweetness to complement the glaze, and some acidity to balance. If you were to use the same sauce in another, heavier form, the flavors would be too much and might overwhelm the pork and the glaze, so the lightness of a foam in this dish made it, undoubtedly, an asset.