Stuffed Pork Tenderloin With Blue Cheese, Pesto and Pine Nuts

Note: You’ll also need some cooking twine for this recipe.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

For the pork loin:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until golden and translucent. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook until tender. Add the vermouth and cook for about 1 minute. Then add half of the basil. Stir in the garbanzo beans, heat until warm and remove from heat to cool.

Now for the tricky part: butterflying the tenderloin. I just gently slide my knife horizontally down the middle of the loin, being careful not to cut through. Do it slowly and you’ll be fine. Spread it open flat.

First spread a layer of pesto on the meat and some of the remaining basil. Next sprinkle the pine nuts and blue cheese.

Add the onion/bean mixture. Place a piece or two of twine under the meat and roll it up, tying it closed with the twine. It helps if you have an extra set of hands at this point.

Place the loin in a baking dish and bake for about 20-35 minutes depending on the size of your tenderloin. Check with a meat thermometer until it reaches 165-170ºF.

When it’s done, transfer it to a cast iron skillet over medium-hight heat to brown the outsides if necessary.

I cooked this a few different ways and found it’s best to bake in the oven and then transfer to the stovetop so it doesn’t dry out.

For the au jus:
Scrape the pan drippings from the roasting pan into the cast iron skillet and deglaze it with the vermouth. Add chicken broth and heat until it reduces slightly.

Slice, spoon au jus over meat, garnish with the fresh basil leaves, serve and enjoy.