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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Figs & Blue Cheese

This recipe is from Cooking Light's "Best Of" collection, and it did not disappoint! I was looking to try something I hadn't cooked before, and also a dish that might be good for a large group. Once I read the recipe and saw that the meat was stuffed with blue cheese and dried figs, I couldn't think of a better combination.


REVIEW: The dish was so tender and the figs and blue cheese filling really complimented the meat without seeming too overwhelming. Overall, it was really easy too! I didn't change much, except for the recipe called for a one pound tenderloin, but the smallest I could find was 2.5lbs. The package contained two pieces of meat, so I just made two and cooked them for a little longer. Total cooking time was about 40 minutes. I doubled the stuffing to accommodate the two as well. Lots of welcome leftovers! A food processor worked great for chopping the figs. I served the meat with a side of asparagus and always tasty wild rice pilaf.

How good does that look right out of the oven?!



RECIPE:

1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 cup dried figs, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp apple jelly
cooking spray
twine


Preheat oven to 450F. Line a baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. Slice pork in half lengthwise, cutting to but not through the other side (like Subway cuts their bread). Open halves and lay meat flat. Place pork between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/2" thickness with a meat mallet. Sprinkle dried figs and blue cheese over pork, leaving a 1/4" border around outside edges. Roll up the pork while tucking in the filling. Secure at 2" intervals with twine. Sprinkle roll with salt and pepper and set into baking dish. Bake at 450F for 20 minutes. Brush jelly over pork. Bake an additional 5 minutes until meat is slightly pink or thermometer reads 160F. Let stand 10 minutes. Discard twine; cut pork into 1" thick slices. Makes 4 servings. (per serving: 274 cals, 9g fat, 20g carbs, 28g protein)