Pesto, Feta, and Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Thursday Lorraine got out a package of pork tenderloin and asked me to cook it.
Meh. Not that I don’t like pork tenderloin, but I’ve been doing (more or less) the same ‘ole thing with pork tenderloin for the last year. Slice it, pound it flat, fry it. Ok, sometimes I saute it … but that’s frying with a fancy name.
What to do, what to do?
Look in the fridge and cupboard, what do I have?
Big jar of pesto. Big block of feta cheese. Jar of sun dried tomatoes. Ok, that works!
Note: My measurements in this recipe are approximate. That means “I guessed when writing it down” in English. Use your own judgment on amounts.
Pesto, Feta, and Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
- 1 package pork tenderloin (2 pieces)
- 1/2 cup pesto, divided
- 3/8 cup feta cheese, cut in 1/4″ dice, divided
- 8 sun dried tomatoes, cut in 1/4″ dice, divided
- 1/4 cup ground Parmesan cheese, divided
- salt & ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise, divided
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Clean the fat and silverside (silver muscle sheathing) from the two pieces of tenderloin. Take one and slice it lengthwise, half way through. Put it on a large cutting board and cover generously with plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, carefully pound it thin and even, about 1/4″ to 3/8″ thick. Thinner is better, but don’t tear the meat or put holes in it. Repeat with the second tenderloin.
Spread each loin with half the pesto. Sprinkle evenly with feta and sun dried tomatoes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and season with salt & pepper. Carefully roll each piece up side-to-side — this is long, not short-n-fat. Grease or oil a baking dish at least 13″ long. Place the loins side-by-side in the pan, seam side down, with at least 2″ in between.
Season again with salt & pepper. Smear the mayonnaise evenly along the top of both pieces, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes.
Note: I expected the pork to be done in 40 minutes, but it took 55 minutes. The top part was still a bit bloody at 40 minutes.