This spinach, cranberry and walnut stuffed pork is what your Christmas table needs :). This is especially the case if there are plenty of people attending your Christmas dinner; it’s important to have several options other than the classic roasted turkey.
The filling is reaaaally tasty. The spinach is always delicious and it also provides moisture for the filling, but also for the pork. On the other hand, the walnuts and cranberries are classic Christmas flavours. The cranberries give the dish a slight sweetness that I love. To chop up the filling ingredients I used a food grinder. Instead of that you can finely chop it or use a food processor. Just be careful to not turn it into a purée.
Besides the filling, I also painted a brown sugar glaze with Dijon mustard and garlic. This gives the tenderloin a lovely and shiny finish. If you don’t like garlic, you can remove it from the recipe without any issues. I just love how golden it looks and it’s always a nice surprise to find a bit of sweetness in a pork dish.
The cooking degree of this stuffed pork is really important for two reasons. First, we don’t want to under-cook it because it posses a health risk. Second, you don’t want to over-cook it because then it’s dry and not very nice to eat. The ideal is to have a meat thermometer at hand to test the centre of the pork and make sure that it has reached 63°C or 146°F. This is a safe temperature to cook pork where the juices are still present.
Ingredients
For the glaze
- 100 g brown sugar
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves pressed, finely grated or minced
For the filling
- 300 g spinach
- 70 g dried cranberries
- 70 g walnuts toasted in a preheated oven at 180°C o 350°F for 5min.
- Salt and pepper
For the pork
- 250 g pork loin or pork filet
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
For the glaze
- Place all the ingredients in a small pot and mix over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Reserve.
For the filling
- Remove the stalks from the spinach. For this, fold the leave in half lengthwise, keeping the stalk on the outside. Pull on the stalk to remove it along with the fibre all the way to the top. You can see the procedure clearly in the video lines above.
- Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly to remove any dirt.
- Pu water and plenty of salt in a pot to boil. Also, prepare a bowl with water and ice.
- Cook the spinach leaves in the boiling water for 20-30 seconds. This process is called "blanching". Once soft, remove them from the pot and place them in the icy water.
- Squeeze out as much water as you can from the leaves.
- Pass the spinach along with the cranberries and walnuts through the food grinder. Alternatively, you can chop everything up with a knife or use a food processor. Just make sure it doesn't turn into a purée.
- Season the filling with salt and pepper.
For the pork
- Cut the loin down the centre but only halfway through. At this point also make cuts to either side to open up the loin.
- Feel with your fingers if there are any more thick areas and make cuts along them too to open it up further. You can see this step better in the video lines above.
- Flip it so that the outside of the loin is facing upwards. Place a piece of parchment paper on top and use a rolling pin to flatten it out further.
- Season the loin on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the filling over the inside of the loin and flatten it with your fingers.
- Roll up the loin tightly.
- Use a piece of string to tie the loin, being careful not to do it tight so that it can expand on the pan.
- Heat a pan over high heat. Add a drizzle of vegetable oil and sear the pork on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Place the pork on a baking tray and paint it with the glaze we made previously.
- Roast the stuffed pork for 25-30min in a preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F or until the inner temperature of the pork reaches 63°C / 146°F at the centre. After 15 minutes, paint the pork with the glaze and juices that have fallen down to the tray.
- Remove it from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
