So this is the kind of thing I love to cook, which means it’s something I just kind of made up on the fly after skimming a few recipes on the internet, and with a few suggestions from my friends. It’s very rich but honestly pretty easy to make. It really isn’t super time intensive. There’s a lot of parts but each one is pretty easy.
For an overview, what you’re going to do is stuff the tenderloin, roast it, then set it aside to rest, and make a cream sauce using the drippings and some of the leftover cilantro pesto to tie things together.
Also, I’m not sure if this technically qualifies as a pesto because there aren’t any nuts in it. But I’m calling it that anyway.
Ingredients:
For the pesto:
1 bunch cilantro, chopped, stems discarded
4 cloves garlic
Half an onion (not a monster onion, a medium sized one), roughly chopped
1-2 Serrano peppers, chopped
2-3 tablspoons olive Oil (not exactly sure how much I used, around a quarter cup I think. Feel free to use less and work your way up if you think it isn’t creamy enough)
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
salt to taste
For the rest of the stuffing, and also the meat:
The other half of the onion, diced
1/2 pound chorizo, removed from its casing
1/2 pound oaxaca cheese, broken up in to chunks (can use shredded mozzarella or monterrey jack just fine, I just wanted to try something different)
1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, split lengthwise but still in one piece. I think it’s called butterflying.
For the sauce:
4 ounces cream cheese
Any of the cheese you might have left over from the stuffing
1 1/2(?) cups milk, divided in half. (Okay, this is a bit of a guess because I was in a hurry. It was between one and two) (maybe 2 and a half) (but probably not 3)
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic powder (optional)
1/2 cup flour (also a bit of a guess)
salt
Directions:
Preheat your over to 375.
Start off by making the pesto. Throw everything in a blender or food processor and…uh…process it…until it’s a paste. Should have a little heat but nothing overwhelming. And feel free to add more garlic.
Brown the chorizo in a pan with the onions. While that’s going, take the split open pork tenderloin and beat the hell out of it with a meat hammer until it’s about 1/2 an inch thick. I’ve never actually done this before, so if you are also new to it, use the spiky side of the meat hammer. Goes much faster. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Once the chorizo is browned, remove it from the heat. Lay the beaten tenderloin on your work surface, probably a cutting board. Spread 3 or 4 tablespoons of the pesto on the pork, then cover it with a layer of the chorizo and finally a layer of the cheese. You may very well have cheese left over, which is a good thing, because you can add it to the sauce later. You should also have some of the pesto left over, which again will be used to augment the sauce. Roll the tenderloin up and tie it off with cooking twine. Place it in your roasting dish, and spread a few more spoon fulls of the pesto on top. Pop it in the oven for an hour, maybe hour and a half. Until it temps at 165.
Once that’s done, pull it out of the oven and place it aside on a plate or serving dish to rest. Pour the drippings from the pan in to a small sauce pot, as well as the cream cheese, half the milk, the green onions, garlic powder, and a tablespoon or two of the leftover pesto and bring it up to a low boil. While it’s heating, beat the other half of the cold milk with the flour in a small dish until smooth. Once the sauce starts to boil, start drizzling the milk and flour mixture in to the sauce, stirring rapidly to mix it up. You are just going to add this to the sauce until you get it to the consistency you like. I like it thick, so I used all of this, but feel free to use less. Bring it back to a low boil for a few minutes, then remove from the heat. Should be done.
Slice the roast and spoon the sauce over the top. I ate it with yellow rice, refried beans would probably also be fine.
Enjoy!
eatbensmeat 