Mediterranean Stuffed Pork Loin

Kirk’s mom had given us a bounty of food from Whole Foods a few weeks ago, and one of those items was a pork tenderloin. We’ve been waiting to make it and once we found this fantastic recipe from Mark’s Daily Apple, we decided to make it for dinner today.

Now, it does take some time to prep. But I firmly believe that for the most part, you get back what you put into something. If you want quick food eat fast food. But will it really have complexity of flavor, be satisfying, and give you an opportunity to spend time with family cooking? We are insanely busy, but somehow we always find time to cook together, and it has brought a lot of happiness to our lives. I think there is nothing greater than making something from scratch and then enjoying it together. OK…..so back to the pork loin.

Mediterranean Stuffed Pork Loin (Via Mark’s Daily Apple)

• 1-2 pound pork tenderloin
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 6 oz spinach
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (any kind that sounds good)
• Pitted kalamata olives
• Olive oil or butter for sautéing
• Optional: 1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese (not paleo, technically, but a minimal amount adds great flavor)

Instructions:

Drizzle some olive oil or butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add red peppers and garlic to the pan. After a few minutes add the spinach and cook until it wilts. Remove from heat.Butterfly cut the pork tenderloin (cut vertically down the middle until almost through, but not quite through the pork).Place saran-rap over the butterflied pork and pound it as flat as you can without breaking through the pork (use a meat tenderizing hammer for best results).Once the pork is thin then add the ingredients from the pan on top of the pork, spreading it all over. Add the nuts, and optional feta cheese and olives.

Gently roll the pork into a tube/roll. If you are using a smaller pork loin, or were not able to pound it very thinly, you may just be folding the loin over rather than rolling it. In this case, securing the loin with toothpicks or kitchen twine will be necessary.

Drizzle the pork with olive oil and butter and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40-60 minutes (depending on the size of the pork roll).

When the pork is cooked to your liking, let it cool slightly and then slice.

We ate ours with grilled asparagus and it was delicious!

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