Ingredients:
One pound piece of pork tenderloin
A bunch of fresh basil leaves
2-8 tablespoons of hard cheese grated(I use Asiago or Grana Padano – I have them handy for my gnocchi recipe)
2-8 tablespoons of sun-dried tomato paste
6 -10 slices of prosciutto ham
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Olive paste
2/3 cup pitted black olives
2-3 garlic cloves
4 tablespoon olive oil
1. Trim away excess fat(if you want – I have always found that fat increases the taste – so trim after cooked if there is too much)
Slice the pork lengthwise being careful not to go all the way through.
2. Open out the pork and salt and pepper inside
3. Lay a bed of basil leaves inside
4. Mix the sun dried tomato paste and grated cheese together and lay on top of the basil. (The original recipe on this called for a couple of tablespoons of each but this was not nearly enough. I used quite a bit more and was glad I did. It really adds to the overall flavours.)
5. Press the pork back together and wrap with the ham. Start with one over each end and hold those in place with the other pieces. Don’t be shy with the ham.
6. Place in a pan/dish – I used a glass baking dish – seamside down. Brush with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Place in the oven preheated to 375F. 30-40 minutes.
7. For the olive paste: you can blend the olives, garlic and olive oil or finely chop the garlic and olives and just mix in a bowl with the oil.
8. Cut the cooked pork thinly and serve.
9. We served with sliced tomato and avocado sprinkled with salt, pepper, basil and olive oil.
Note: try different stuffings. I’ll probably add a bit of spinach next time or maybe some dried fruit.
