Shell Fish Ceviche with Roasted Pork Tenderloin

I wanted to create my own healthy version of a "Surf and Turf" meal . Pork Tenderloin is a great healthy alternative to having beef for dinner, and almost is identical to chicken breat for calories and fat.

3 oz. of pork tenderloin will  give 139 calories; 24g protein; 4.1g fat (1.4g saturated, 0.49 polyunsaturated)

My biggest problem with pork is that almost everyone overcooks it making it dry and tasteless.  Trichinosis, the reason most of our parent over cooked pork to death is virtually eliminated in pork, typically an internal temp of 141 degrees is more than enough to kill anything bad.  Thee are a few secrets one can use to make pork extremely tasty and juicy. Brine, don't over cook, and letting your meat rest before slicing.

I never ate ceviche till I moved to Southwest Florida and wow...what I great surprise! Raw fish that has been "cooked" in citrus juice....the beauty of Ceviche is you can be creative! Add the types of fish, seafood you like. Some items like shrimp and some other shellfish should cooked first. I was deeply inspired by Top Chef 's Howie Kleinberg from seasons 3 ceviche.

I hope you enjoy this meal. It is easy to prepare, very healthy, low calories, virtually carb free and simply delicious!

Shell Fish Ceviche

Ingredients:

• 1lb of mussels ( I use farm rasied which don't need to be "debeared")
• 1 lb of bay scallops ( You can use large scallops and cut, but why?? Bay scallops cost less!)
• 1 lb of pink shrimp
• 1/2 lb of white fish ( cod, tilapia..your choice, personally, I'm not a fan of tilapia) cut into small pieces
• 4 limes, juiced
• 4 lemons juiced
• 1 large honeybell tangelo* ( see note below)
• 2 scallions, sliced medium thin, including greens
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced thin
• 1 medium red bell pepper, petite diced
• 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 mango, diced
• 1 tablespoon of Old Bay Garlic and herb
•  5-6 sprigs of cilantro to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

*if you can not find a honeybell tangelo ( they are ONLY in season for a month or so and I believe exclusive to Florida) Use the juice of one medium sweet orange and 1 tangerine)


In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil, salt moderately ( When cooking shellfish, I salt to "Ocean water" )
Cook mussels 3-4 minutes till they open and put in ice bath. In same water, add old bay and add shrimp, cook 1-2 minutes till pink and remove and add to ice water bath. Clean shrimp, remove shells, legs. Remove mussels from shells. In a large glass bowl, add mussels, shrimp,  bay scallops, fish. Salt everything and let stand for a few minutes. Juice all of the citrus, I recommend throwing the citrus in the microwave for 10-15 each to allow maximum juicing. Add citrus juice to seafood, add scallions, onion, peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and mango. Pepper to taste. mix all ingredients with hands. all seafood should be completely covered in citrus juice!! If not, try a different bowl, or add more citrus juice ( use in same proportions). Cover bowl in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours, ( You can make this over night, even better!)


Serve in Martini glasses and enjoy!!




Ken's Roasted Pork Tenderloin


Ingredients

• 1.5-2lb Pork Tenderloin
• nonstick vegetable oil spray
• Ken's pork rub * (see note)

*Ken's pork rub: You can make this in large quantities and store in  air tight dry containers.

• 4 tablespoon of prepared chili powder
• 2 tablespoons of ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper
• 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of of coarse ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of  dried ground chipotle
• 2 tablespoons of paprika

Mix all ingredients together, rub on any pork dish for a great flavor!



Directions

Spray tenderloin lightly with vegetable oil spray and rub rub pork with my pork rub. Wrapin plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours ( better if you do this the night before and lety set over night)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Over high heat, heat a nonstick sear pan, or other large pan, spray lightly with nonstick oil.  Remove tenderloin from plastic wrap and sear all sides, about 1 minute per side till you can see the sear marks (I use a nonstick grill pan that leaves grill marks). Once meat is seared, put in oven, for 20-22 minutes......DO NOT OVER COOK!!!!!

Remove from oven and wrap tenderloin in foil, alllow to rest for at least 10 minutes ( the foil holds in the heat while it is resting and allows for some additional cooking). Once meat is rested ( this allows the meat to be extremely juicy!) slice and serve!