Featuring Filippo Berio Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Please note: This post has been sponsored by Filippo Berio. All opinions are our own.
Stuffed roasts are a great main course during the winter and holiday season. We happen to love pork loin and combining it with some special ingredients creates both a stunning visual dish and one that tastes absolutely amazing. And this holiday, we have teamed up with Filippo Berio and their wonderful products to make this Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin.
What is in this Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin?
Filippo Berio produces great olive oils and pesto products, and for this recipe we used both! This year is far from normal, but we feel that it should be just as special even if we cannot gather with our loved ones in the usual way.
For our holiday roast this year, we chose a smaller pork tenderloin – which is about 1-1.5 lbs and serves between 2 and 4 – but you could certainly use a large pork loin and adjust the stuffing and ingredients as needed for larger groups. Either way, the stuffing and flavoring really takes this dish to the next level.
So, let's break down the dish for you...
The Stuffing
Although any of the pestos Filippo Berio makes would be great choices to flavor the roast, we chose the Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and absolutely loved how it brightened up this roast! Coating the inside of the pork loin with the pesto and then stuffing the loin with sautéed spinach and toasted pecans not only makes a stunning presentation but adds texture and flavor to the pork.
What makes this dish look amazing is the roll on the caramelized pork loin with a vibrant green from the spinach and a hint of bright red from the Filippo Berio Sun Dried Tomato Pesto. If you have never made a stuffed pork loin (or other stuffed roast, for that matter), please don’t be intimidated. This isn’t that difficult, and the only special thing you may need is kitchen twine. Once it is roasted and sliced, the presentation will be a visual hit.
But visual is only part of the battle, and anyone who has seen Christmas Vacation knows that! What makes this roast work so well is the complementary components of taste and the spinach that keeps the pork from drying out on the inside.
The pesto brings the perfect amount of sweetness and pop of flavor needed to make this dish a superstar. You can try the Filippo Berio Sun Dried Tomato Pesto on its own and tell that it will elevate a humble pork loin, among other things. Adding lightly sautéed spinach and just a few toasted pecans for an unexpected texture and flavor enhancer and this dish will probably be made more than once! In fact, it’s perfect for any time of year in our opinion!
How to make Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Making a stuffed pork tenderloin is really quite simple! You will need to butterfly the pork tenderloin. This means you need to make one cut down the middle of the tenderloin, lengthwise, about ⅔ of the way through. Then open the two sides up and lightly pound out the meat about ¼ inch thick.
The best tool to pound out the meat is a meat mallet. But if you do not own one of these, you can use anything with a flat side that has some weight to it (think hammer) - a wine bottle could work if you don't have anything else laying around!
Pounding out the meat allows you to roll the stuffing inside easier and create that beautiful spiral. But this also tenderizes the meat a bit.
Once you have a nice flattened piece of pork, stuffing it is easy! Spread the pesto first, followed by the spinach and finally the toasted pecans. Then you just roll it up!
Keeping it together will require some kitchen twine, or toothpicks at a minimum. Kitchen twine is easy to find and is your best bet here. Slide pieces of twine under the rolled pork, then tie it up fairly tight. We don't want to lose any of that stuffing during the cooking process!
Cooking the Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
The pork is seared then roasted. Searing the pork gives it a nice brown color on the outside with a bit of caramelization before roasting it. Believe us, you don't want to skip the searing step!
To sear, we used Filippo Berio Olive Oil over medium-high heat. The goal here is to sear for 1-2 minutes a side until all sides are golden brown.
You will then transfer the pork to a roasting pan or place the entire skillet in the oven if using a stainless steel or cast iron skillet.
The pork will take about 12-20 minutes to get to an internal temp of 145°F but use a meat thermometer to check it after 12 minutes. Depending on the size of your pork, it may need a bit more time to cook through the middle.
While the pork roasts, you can complete your sauce.
Red Wine Reduction
The sauce we chose to make is purely optional, but who doesn’t like a light red wine reduction? We’re not talking about a heavy butter-laden sauce here, but just a tart-sweet red and port wine concoction with some thyme and a touch of honey. This is easy to make and doesn’t need much babysitting, but it does take a bit of time and patience so it can be started well ahead of time.
We generally like to get the sauce going before preparing the pork, just to ensure that it reduces properly so plan ahead on this one, so the sauce is ready as soon as the pork comes out of the oven.
This red wine reduction can be made to drizzle over the Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin!
Enjoy!
We hope you enjoy this recipe for Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin! This dish is simple but refined – both in looks and taste. Give it a try and you won’t be disappointed!
If you give this recipe a try, leave us a comment below, or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!
Also, check out some of our other popular recipes below:
- Crunchy Chicken with White Wine Lemon Butter Sauce
- Coq au Vin – Chicken in Red Wine
- Parmesan Peppercorn Mashed Potatoes
- Parmesan Herb Asparagus with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts
- White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Course: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium3-4
servings20
minutes20
minutes40
minutesIngredients
- For the Pork
1 1 Pork tenderloin (1-1.5 lbs)
3 oz 3 Filippo Berio Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
2 tablespoon 2 Filippo Berio Olive Oil
5 oz 5 spinach
1 pinch 1 sea salt
¼ cup ¼ chopped pecans
pinch of salt and pepper to lightly season all sides of pork
- For the Sauce (optional)
1 1 small carrot, sliced
1 1 stalk celery, sliced
1 1 thyme sprig
2 cups 2 beef broth
½ teaspoon ½ ground black pepper
⅔ cup ⅔ dry red wine
¼ cup ¼ Port wine
1 teaspoon 1 honey
1 teaspoon 1 Filippo Berio Olive Oil
1 teaspoon 1 all purpose flour
Directions
- PREPARE THE PORK
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Butterfly the pork tenderloin and pound lightly with a meat mallet to about ¼" thick
- Coat one side of the pork with the Filippo Berio Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and set aside.
- Heat 1 Tbs of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the spinach and turn rapidly with tongs or a spatula for about 15-20 seconds to just barely wilt the leaves.
- Immediately remove the spinach from the skillet to paper towels to drain excess water and oil and cool for a few minutes. Put spinach in a small bowl and mix with the sea salt.
- In a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat, add chopped pecans and toast lightly until you just start to smell a difference and get some light color on the nuts. Remove from the pan and add the nuts to the spinach.
- Evenly spread the spinach filling over the pork. Roll the pork carefully and tie with kitchen twine every inch or so to keep the filling inside the pork. Salt and pepper all sides of the pork.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in the large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork on all sides (about 1-2 minutes per side) to get browning and color on the pork.
- Put in a roasting pan on a rack and put in the oven for 12-20 minutes - checking the temperature of the meat after the first 12 minutes. The internal temperature of the pork should be about 145° F.
- Remove the pork and tent lightly with foil for 5 minutes to rest. Remove the twine, slice and serve with the sauce.
- FOR THE SAUCE (optional)
- The sauce can be prepared ahead of time and cooked ¾ of the way, then finished while the pork roasts.
- Add the carrot, celery beef broth and pepper to a saucepan and reduce by ½ over medium heat.
- Strain the mixture, and return to the saucepan.
- Add the red wine, port and honey to the saucepan and reduce again by ½.
- While sauce is reducing the second time, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a small skillet.
- Add the flour and whisk until combined, and cook, making a light roux, for about 3 minutes.
- Whisk roux into the saucepan with the wine reduction until completely smooth and continue reducing the sauce until thick.
- Taste for seasoning and drizzle over the pork. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
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Anita says
This is stunning! Love how you used the pesto and I can just imagine how flavorful this roast is! Happy Holidays to you two!! xo - Anita
Angela and Mark says
Thank you! The flavors are phenomenal!
Amanda Scarlati says
This looks so good! I am putting this on my must-make list for Sunday dinner!
Angela and Mark says
Wonderful! I hope you like it!