The new star of the holiday table: Stuffed Pork Loin
If you are ready to wow your family and guests with something different this holiday season, the kitchen at Pizazz has three stuffed pork loin recipes that will impress even the Scroogiest of guests. Each of these stuffed pork roasts sings their holiday praises with traditional ingredients; comfort food presented in a new way! Don’t worry about the sides, we’ve selected sides that will work with all of our new stars for an easy holiday meal.
Thanksgiving Stuffed Pork Loin with a Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
(Serves 8)
INGREDIENTS
1 (4 lb) Pork Loin, butterflied
2 cups Sweet Potato Mash
2 cups classic Sage Stuffing
¼ cup Caramelized Garlic Olive Oil
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
1 onion sliced
Red Wine Sauce
3 tablespoons butter (divided)
¼ cup minced shallots
1 cup red wine
1 cup cranberry juice, divided
Drippings from roast
Up to ¾ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon chopped sage
1 tablespoon cornstarch
METHOD
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Lay butterflied pork roast out with fat side down, short end towards you. Salt and pepper inside. Spread an even layer of sweet potato mash on the pork leaving 1 inch of space on the top. Spread sage stuffing over sweet potato mash. Roll pork up and tie off with butcher string every 1 ½ inches.
Brush roast with olive oil, generously salt and pepper. Place onions in a roasting pan with pork on top (a roasting rack can be used versus the onions).
Roast for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 325°F and roast until temperature reaches 140°F, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and place on a dish to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile make sauce. Pour drippings into a heat proof measuring cup. Add enough broth to equal ¾ cups. Remove onions from roasting pan, set aside, place pan over burner and turn on to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, sauté shallots until tender. Pour in red wine to deglaze pan using spoon to scrape up any bits, add ¾ cup cranberry juice, broth and sage. Gently boil until sauce is reduced by 1/3 and thickened. Mix cornstarch with remaining ¼ cup cranberry juice. Whisk into reduced sauce, bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Then whisk in remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Slice pork loin (be sure to remove string before slicing), serve with sauce.
Note: to butterfly pork: Place pork, fat side down, on work surface with 1 short end facing you. Using long thin sharp knife and starting 1/2 inch above underside of roast, cut 1/2 inch in along right side. Continue cutting 1/2 inch above underside, unrolling roast like carpet. A great video of the process can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jVuC60Z3xw “How to Stuff a Pork Loin – Rolled Stuffed Pork Loin Roast Wrapped in Caul Fat
Christmas Stuffed Pork Loin with Orange Sauce
(Serves 8)Ingredients
1 (4 lb) Pork Loin, butterflied
1 ½ cups water or red wine
2 cups dried cherries
1 cup pecans, toasted (pistachios or almonds may be substituted)
2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
¼ cup chopped parsley
Blood Orange Olive Oil
Kosher salt and pepper
1 onion sliced
Orange Sauce
1 cup orange juice
1 cup Orange Marmalade
1 tablespoon Lemon
Balsamic Vinegar
1/8 teaspoon dried
ground mustard
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon orange
liqueur (if desired)
Kosher salt and
pepper to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a small pot bring water to a boil, add dried cherries, and remove from heat. Soak cherries until softened, may take up to 1 hour, drain excess liquid. Place cherries and toasted pecans in a food processor, pulse a few times until roughly chopped. Mix in cinnamon, allspice and parsley.
Lay butterflied pork loin out with fat side down, short end towards you. Salt and pepper inside. Spread cherry mixture over pork leaving 1” uncovered at top. Roll pork up and tie off with butcher string every 1 ½ inches.
Brush roast with olive oil, generously salt and pepper. Place onions in a roasting pan with pork on top (a roasting rack can be used versus the onions). Roast for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 325°F and roast until temperature reaches 140°F, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a dish to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile make sauce.
In a small saucepan add all sauce ingredients, gently heat until thoroughly warmed. If sauce is too thick add some pan drippings, if it’s too thin add more marmalade.
Slice, pork loin (be sure to remove string before slicing), serve with sauce.
New Year’s Stuffed Pork Loin with Champagne Sauce
(Serves 8)Ingredients
1 (4 pound) Pork Loin, butterflied
1 ½ cups wild rice, cooked
1 ounce dried morel mushrooms
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon Butter Flavored Olive Oil
¼ cup chopped shallots
¼ cup chopped parsley
Kosher Salt and Pepper
¼ cup Caramelized Garlic Olive Oil
Champagne Sauce
2 cups champagne
1/3 cup minced shallots
¼ cup unsalted butter
Chicken/mushroom stock retained from hydrating mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
Kosher salt to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a small pot, bring chicken stock to a boil, add mushrooms, remove from heat and let soak until mushrooms have softened, about 15 minutes. Remove mushrooms and strain liquid through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth, save stock for later. Chop softened mushrooms.
In a large sauce pan, heat butter flavored olive oil, sauté shallots and mushrooms until shallots have softened. Remove from heat and add rice and parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
Lay butterflied pork roast out with fat side down, short end towards you. Salt and pepper inside. Spread rice mixture over pork leaving 1” uncovered at top. Roll pork up and tie off with butcher string every 1 ½ inches.
Brush roast with olive oil, generously salt and pepper. Place onions in a roasting pan with pork on top (a roasting rack can be used versus the onions). Roast for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 325°F and roast until temperature reaches 140°F, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a dish to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile make sauce.
In a small sauce pan add champagne and shallots, bring to a boil, continue at a rolling boil until champagne has reduced to ¾ cup. Turn off heat and whisk in ¼ cup of butter a little at a time. Strain to remove shallots if desired. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter, add flour and stir to combine. Cook butter and flour mixture, stirring frequently until it turns a warm golden color. Slowly whisk in chicken/mushroom stock. Remove from heat and whisk in champagne butter reduction. Salt to taste. Keep warm but do not boil as it may separate.
Slice, pork loin (be sure to remove string before slicing), serve with sauce.
Crema di Carote (cream of carrot soup)
(Carrot soup, a favorite of the Bella Cucina cooking school, feeds a crowd, it’s inexpensive and simple to make and tastes heavenly! Serves 8 as a main 12 as a starter)
Ingredients
4 ½ cups chopped carrots
1 garlic clove
2 ¼ cup whole milk
1 ¼ cup stock (vegetable or chicken)
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Place carrots and garlic in a large pot and just cover with water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until water is mostly absorbed. Blend with an immersion blender or transfer to a blender or food processor and puree. Add milk and stock, mix well and warm until heated through and slightly reduced, about 10 minutes or until fairly thick. Ladle soup into bowls and top with cheese and freshly grated nutmeg.
The Sidekicks
No traditional holiday meal would be complete without green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. Since we are putting a new twist on the holiday meal, let’s shake things up even more with a twist to the traditional holiday sides.
Deconstructed Green Bean Casserole
(Serves 8 to 12)Ingredients
1 recipe frizzled onions (recipe follows)
2 pounds haricot verts
2 tablespoons butter flavored olive oil
Kosher Salt and pepper
Mushroom Sauce
12 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter flavored olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
Method
Heat butter flavored olive oil over medium-high heat in a large sauce pan, add mushrooms sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms release moisture and start to brown, add garlic and sauté one more minute or until fragrant. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms and stir to combine, cook for 1 minute. Slowly pour broth in while constantly stirring, cook until hot and bubbly and stock thickens, about 1 more minute. Turn heat down, stir in half and half, season with salt and pepper to taste.
In another large skillet, heat butter flavored olive oil over medium high heat, add haricot verts, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until beans turn bright green and become tender crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Plate beans individually or on a platter, pour mushroom sauce over top, garnish with frizzled onions.
Frizzled Onions
1 onions, thinly sliced
1 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
In a large bowl, soak onions in milk for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
Drain onions from the milk and toss in flour mixture. Deep fry in small batches at 350°F until light golden brown (about 15 to 30 seconds).Ingredients
4 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes
6 cups cauliflower florets
4 cloves garlic
2/3 cup whole milk, half and half or cream
¼ cup Butter Flavored Olive Oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or chives
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Cover potatoes, cauliflower and garlic with water in 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes; drain.Return vegetables to saucepan; cook vegetables over low heat until all moisture is released. Add milk and olive oil, mash mixture with a masher (our favorite is….) or use an immersion blender, we like…until desired consistency is reached. Stir in remaining ingredients. Place in bowl, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with extra parsley or chives if desired.
The Sweet Finish
One dessert endless possibilities. Clafoutis is a batter based dessert with your choice of fruit. You can go rustic and bake it in a cast iron skillet, go elegant and bake in a beautiful tart pan or have fun and bake in individual ramekins. Serve it plain, with ice cream or a sauce.
Basic Clafoutis
(Serves 8 to 12)Ingredients
2 cups whole milk
6 eggs
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons Nielsen Massey Madagascar Vanilla Paste
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
Fruit or other ingredients
Method
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and butter until the sugar is dissolved. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into a cast iron skillet, tart pan or ramekins. Add your choice fruit or flavoring (see below). Bake until the clafoutis is beautifully puffed and golden, 45 to 60 minutes. Serve immediately.
Suggestions: Classic cherry: Scatter 3cups pitted cherries onto the batter
Peach: Scatter 3 cups sliced peaches or peach halves onto batter, sprinkle with fresh grated nutmeg
Grape: Lightly crush 3 cups grapes (red is best) and scatter across batter
Pear: peel and core 2 pears, slice and sprinkle over the top.
Chocolate and hazelnut: sprinkle 1 ½ cup chocolate chips and 1 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts over batter.
(Note: all ingredients in bold can be purchased at Pizazz, 403 Central Ave, Great Falls MT. Have questions or need advice on planning your holiday menu? The staff at Pizazz are happy to help.)
