Stuffed Pork Loin

It's great when we make enough food ourselves to have as leftovers, but it's even better when you get someone else's leftovers - especially when those leftovers come from your SIL's catering gigs. Last Friday, my SIL and her mom, C, catered a curling event and served this terrific pork loin dish at it. There was enough leftover that my SIL gave me about half of a whole roast! They do a lot of stuffed meats for their jobs, and this one is really great. The recipe comes from C's cookbook, Tried and True, previously blogged about here.

Stuffed Pork Loin

one 5 - 6lb pork loin roast

For the rub:
1 tsp each: cumin, coriander, oregano, brown sugar
1/2 tsp each: garlic powder, salt, pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger

For the stuffing:
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 small red pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh spinach
1/4 cup each feta & ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Method.

1. For the rub, mix all spices together & set aside.

2. Butterfly the pork loin by cutting it half way through lenght-wise, then cut from the bottom of the incision sideways almost to the outside of the loin.

3. For the stuffing, cut the top off the pepper and clean out the seeds. Peel the garlic. Coat the outside of the pepper and garlic with 1 tbsp oil. Place the pepper skin side on a baking pan with the garlic, and bake for about 20 minutes at 375F or until skin is lifting off pepper and has black areas. Remove. Peel skin from the pepper. Dice garlic & pepper & set aside.

4. Caramelize the onion with 1 tbsp oil , sugar, and the vinegar.

5. Combine all stuffing ingredients in a bowl and season with salt & pepper to taste.

6. Stuff the pork, fold it closed and truss with string to keep it closed during cooking process. Rub the pork with spice mixture. Place the roast in an open roaster and bake for about 2 1/2 hours or until done.

7. Remove string, slice, and serve.

I served mine with roasted potatoes and some roasted asparagus. Yum! Thanks for the leftovers, Shan!