Prosciutto, Mozzarella & Sage Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
I’m excited to be participating in the Pork and Pinot series that La Crema is hosting this summer.As we move into the season for casual entertaining – think afternoon BBQs and long evenings around the picnic table – it’s a good time to stockpile easy, crowd-pleasing recipes that pair perfectly with juicy, light-bodied Pinot Noirs. A terrific stuffed pork tenderloin fits the bill nicely.
For each of my four posts in this series, we’ll explore a pork dish from a different part of the world, created to pair with La Crema’s delicious Pinot Noir. Our first destination? Italy. This stuffed and rolled pork tenderloin may not be strictly traditional, but it takes all of its inspiration from Italian cuisine. Butterflied and filled with layers of sage and rosemary pesto, fresh mozzarella cheese and prosciutto, then rolled up and roasted to juicy perfection.
Slicing into the finished stuffed pork tenderloin reveals a beautiful pink, white, and green spiral, and the herbal, salty flavors of the filling permeate each bite of pork. It’s an entrée that looks and tastes “fancy,” but really requires very little effort – the perfect dish for impressing dinner guests. Serve it alongside a bottle of La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, and perhaps a platter of simply roasted vegetables, and your next dinner party menu is taken care of.
Stay tuned for more Pork and Pinot! Next up, Vietnam …
Prosciutto, Mozzarella, and Sage Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Author: Katie Morris of Katie at the Kitchen Door
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Loosely adapted from Saveur and The Great Meat Cookbook.
Ingredients
- One pork tenderloin, about 1 1/2-2 pounds
- 1 bunch fresh sage
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 15 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 cloves garlic
- 6 TBS olive oil, divided
- sea salt and pepper
- 6-8 thin slices of prosciutto
- 6 thin slices fresh mozzarella
Instructions
- Butterfly the tenderloin – slice the tenderloin in half down one of the long sides, stopping a 1/2 inch before you’ve cut all the way through. Open the tenderloin like a book. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the tenderloin until it has a thickness of 1/2 inch all over.
- Remove the leaves from the sage, rosemary, and thyme. Place the herb leaves in a food processor with the garlic and 3 TBS of the olive oil. Pulse the herbs until a finely minced rub is formed. Season the herb mixture with salt and pepper.
- Rub one half of the herb mixture on the inside of the prepared pork tenderloin. Top with slices of mozzarella, slightly overlapping, and then with slices of prosciutto. Carefully roll the pork tenderloin up as you would a jelly roll, tucking the filling back in as needed. Use butcher’s twine to tie the pork into a roll, using 1 piece of twine every two inches. Rub the remaining half of the herb mixture on the outside of the pork and marinate the pork in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Heat the remaining 3 TBS of olive oil in a dutch oven or other oven-proof skillet. Brown the pork on all sides, then place the dutch oven in the preheated oven. internal temperature reaches 145°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the meat (not the filling), about 20-30 minutes. Remove the pork from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
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