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Ingredients:
½ cup sultana raisins
½ cup apple cider
5 ounces baby spinach
2 packages Black Pepper Herbed cheese
1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
2 teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 4-pound pork loin
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 apple, cored and sliced into 1/4 inch wedges
1 small fennel bulb, cored and sliced into 1/4 inch wedges
½ small red onion, sliced into 1/4 inch wedges
3 sprigs fresh thyme
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the raisins and ¼ cup apple cider in a small bowl; plump the raisins for 10 to 15 minutes. In a medium sauté pan over medium high heat, add the raisins with the apple cider they have been soaking in and spinach and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated from the pan and the spinach is almost dry. Remove from the pan and transfer to a bowl. Add the cheese, walnuts and ½ teaspoon salt and mix well. If the mixture is too soft, place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.
To prepare the pork loin for stuffing, first trim the tough silver skin from the loin. Lay the loin on a cutting board, using a sharp boning knife; begin to slice horizontally through to the center of the loin. Do not slice all the way through, leave about an inch to act as a hinge. As you slice the pork open it so it lays flat. Cover the surface of the pork with plastic wrap and pound to a 1-inch thickness. Pipe or spoon the stuffing onto the center of the butterflied pork. Cut eight, 18-inch pieces of kitchen twine, shimmy the twine under the pork at regular intervals. Bring both sides of the pork loin together and tie the roast together.
Brush the pork loin with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
In a medium size bowl combine the apples, fennel, red onion and thyme. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the remaining 1/4 cup apple cider and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Transfer the mixture to a roasting pan; place the pork loin, seam side down, on top of the vegetables.
Roast in the oven until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 140 to 145 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, usually 35 to 40 minutes. Allow the roast to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Serve the roasted apples, onions and fennel with the sliced pork loin.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Learn more about Making Everyday Ingredients Gourmet Meals.
Learn more about sustainable food choices with our Eat Green Guide.
This recipe was featured in the Emeril Salutes the Military episode of Emeril Green .
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