Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Sage Pesto

I had a ton of fresh sage leftover after making this butternut soup and a few other things.  I decided to use the bulk of it up in a sage pesto.  I made that, and then rubbed a pork tenderloin with it and my husband grilled it.  We served it with more pesto to spoon over the top.  It was very good!!  I would have tried it with a turkey tenderloin, but those are harder for me to get here.  I found the pesto recipe on another blog, but the pork tenderloin was my idea.

Fresh Sage Pesto
adapted from Not Without Salt

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup tablespoons mint (optional- or use more parsley)
1 cup (about 2 ½ oz.) sage, packed
2 garlic cloves
½ cup (2 oz.) walnuts, toasted
½ cup (1/2 oz.) grated Parmesan
¼-½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt

1.  Combine first six ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend to a rough puree. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the machine running stream in the olive oil. Add the zest, lemon juice, then taste and add salt to taste. Adjust seasonings to your preference.

Sage Pesto-Grilled Pork Tenderloin
by What a Dish!

1 pork tenderloin, 2-3 pounds, trimmed
fresh sage pesto (recipe above)

1.  Pre-heat outdoor grill to medium, and oil the grill grates.  Rub sage pesto generously over pork tenderloin.  Save some in a separate container, to use later.

2.  Grill pork tenderloin until done, turning to cook all sides.  Use a meat thermometer to test for done-ness, about 10-20 minutes. 

3.  Let rest on a platter before slicing and serving.  Serve with more sage pesto. 

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