Italian Pork Roast Quick, Delicious

Pork is an increasingly popular entree on restaurant menus, in part because breeding changes have produced meat that is much leaner than it used to be.

This Italian Roast Pork is a simple recipe that needs only about 25 minutes of cooking to be juicy and flavorful. Use fresh sage if possible; it’s much sweeter than the dried version. Lentils don’t require soaking and Herbed Garlic Lentils will cook up firm and delicious in less than 30 minutes.

Serve this hearty meal with Italian bread and a green salad or sauted green beans.

This meal contains a total of 356 calories per serving with 26 percent of calories from fat.

Italian Roast Pork

1 pork tenderloin, about 8 ounces

1 small clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, chopped or 1/2 tablespoon chopped dried sage

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Line a baking tray with foil. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove as much fat as possible from the pork. Mix the garlic and sage together. With a sharp knife, make deep incisions in the pork and insert a little of the garlic-sage mixture in each one.

Brush the meat with the olive oil and place on the baking tray in the preheated oven. Roast for 25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches 160 degrees.

Remove, cover with foil and let stand 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Slice and serve over the lentils.

Yield: 2 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 164 calories, 25 grams protein, 1 gram carbohydrate, 5 grams fat (27 percent fat calories), no fiber, 79 milligrams cholesterol, 57 milligrams sodium.

Herbed Garlic Lentils

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons defatted, low-sodium chicken stock, divided (see note)

1/2 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 cup water

1/2 cup dried lentils

1 bay leaf, crushed

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place 2 tablespoons chicken stock and onions in a sauce pan. Cover and saute until the onions are transparent, adding more stock if the onions start to burn.

Place the lentils in a strainer and rinse and drain, discarding any stones. Add the rest of the stock and water to the pan and bring to a rolling boil.

Pour the lentils into the pot slowly so that the water does not stop boiling. Add the bay leaf, rosemary and garlic. Reduce the heat slightly, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, add the vinegar and continue to cook on high to evaporate any remaining liquid, about 10 minutes. Stir in the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 2 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 192 calories, 11 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams fat (23 percent fat calories), 4.4 grams fiber, 1 milligram cholesterol, 12 milligrams sodium.

Note: Keep canned chicken stock in the refrigerator; fat will be hardened and can easily be removed before using.