Sautéed Pork Loin with Mustard & Tarragon Sauce & Navy Beans

This was Sautéed pork loin with mustard and tarragon sauce and navy beans.

My mission was to use all leftover tarragon in the refrigerator and fresh asparagus. I found a recipe of "Sauteed Pork Chops with Mustard and Tarragon Sauce for Two" from Cooks Illustrated. The sauce sounded very nice. We haven't had pork for a while, so the timing was right. However I didn't want to have a big chop, so I bought sliced loin. One slice was about just 4 oz. I hammered each slice flat to cook quicker and more even and to make it look bigger for J. A side should be asparagus, of course. I was going to steam them. Anything else? Neither bread or potato. Somehow beans came to mind. I made up a bean side dish, inspired by lentil salad and stew recipes I have seen recently. Cook onion, carrot, and tiny garlic in butter, add a little tomato paste, add vermouth, cook more, then, add beans, some mixture of water and chicken and vegetable broth, and bay leave and fresh thyme, simmer for a while, and then adjust taste with black pepper. No salt. That's all.

Hello, asparagus! After cooking in microwave, I tossed them with a little bit of butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Hello, pork! About three minutes cooking each side. Quick!

Hello, tarragon! Did you know you were the star this day?

It was a lovely one-plate-meal. The sauce was tasty. Tarragon was everywhere. The pork was juicy. My favorite was actually the beans that absorbed the sauce and pork juice nicely. J also liked the beans very much. The beans can be versatile; anything can nest on the bean bed. Chicken, fish, or sausage? J reacted positively to the last item. Now we know what to do next with the beans.