sheet-pan pork tenderloin with fennel, cauliflower, and grapes

Fennel rarely shows up in a home kitchen before AIP asks you to reach for it, and learning a new vegetable takes real energy, the kind that symptoms and appointments already pull from you all week. This dish keeps the learning curve short: slice the bulb into wedges, scatter it on the pan, and let the oven finish what you started.

Pork tenderloin is a lean source of B vitamins that help your body turn food into usable energy, a real thing to name when fatigue keeps showing up uninvited. While you pat the meat dry and season it, take a moment to register where it came from: a real animal, raised to become this meal, not just an ingredient on a list.

Let the grapes roast until they blister and the fennel turns soft at the edges. Fan the sliced pork over the vegetables, spoon the pan juices over the top, and sit down to a plate that looks like more effort than it took.

Ingredients

For the vegetables:

• 1 head cauliflower, or 4 cups florets
• 1 bulb fennel
• 2 cups seedless grapes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder, or 1 minced garlic clove

For the pork tenderloin:

• 2 lb pork tenderloin
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar, or maple sugar or honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method

Heat the oven to 425F and line a sheet pan.

Stir the coconut sugar, minced garlic, coconut aminos, and balsamic vinegar together in a small bowl to make the glaze. Pat the pork dry and brush it all over with about half the glaze.

Cut the cauliflower into florets and slice the fennel bulb. Spread the cauliflower, fennel, and grapes across the sheet pan. Toss them with the olive oil, salt, and garlic powder, then push them to the edges to leave room in the center. Set the glazed pork in the middle.

Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, brushing the pork with the remaining glaze once partway through, until the pork is cooked through to a safe internal temperature and the vegetables are tender and lightly caramelized. Let the pork rest a few minutes, then slice and serve it with the roasted vegetables and grapes.

*Adapted from thrivingautoimmune.com*