Stuffed Pork Tenderloin And The Reinvention Of Leftovers

UD and I love pork tenderloin, and I suggested having it again the other night.  UD said "What else can we do with it, besides just grilling it?".  That gave me pause.  What to do, what to do.  Stuff it!  That's the ticket.

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I decided to stuff it with spinach, mushrooms and Peccorino Romano cheese.  I pulled out a box of Green Giant spinach and defrosted it in the microwave.

I wrapped it in a clean dish towel and squeezed every bit of water out of it.  Then I separated it so that it would spread out evenly on the pork.

I sauteed the mushrooms in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

When they were just about browned, I added the Kosher salt and ground black pepper.

Pork tenderloin usually comes packaged with two tenderloins, so I vacuum sealed the second one and started butterflying the one we were using that night.  Cut into the tenderloin length-wise, without cutting all the way through.  It should open like a book. 

Put some parchment paper over the butterflied pork and pound it with the smooth side of a mallet.  I pounded until it was between a 1/4 and a 1/2 inch thick. 

I put the spinach down first.  Don't place the stuffing layers right up to the edge, or it will seep out when you start rolling it.

Then the Peccorino Romano cheese.

And the final layer was the mushrooms.

Roll it up as tightly as you can without having the stuffing come out the sides.

I had soaked some toothpicks in cold water for about 15 minutes, so they wouldn't burn while the pork was cooking.  Be generous with the toothpicks, so it stays perfectly rolled up.  I covered it with plastic wrap and left it in the fridge until I was ready for UD to grill it.

I moved onto the side dishes, which were left-overs from my disappointing attempt at the roasted bone-in, skin on chicken breasts.

Since the sweet potatoes were already cooked through, I started with the Idaho potatoes.  I placed those, with the already cooked onion, in a pan over medium heat, with EVOO and a dab of butter.

When they were cooked through, I added the sweet potatoes and heated everything through.  They were delicious after becoming hash browned potatoes.

Then I took the undercooked asparagus and laid it out on a tin foil lined cookie sheet and cooked them for 5 minutes at 425 degrees.  I pulled them out of the oven and turned them over and cooked for another 5 minutes.  They were perfectly done now.

I tossed some mushrooms I had saved from the stuffing, with the asparagus.

I went out back and cut a few sprigs of parsley.  I am so happy I started growing Herbs this year.  They make such a difference.  You can actually taste the freshness.

I chopped it up, and put it aside for garnish.

UD did wonders on the grill.  He said he used a medium high temperature, and turned the pork often.

Dinner was served!

Bon Appetit. 

A bientot!  See you soon.