Cooking with fruits and nuts is a gourmet venture for most people… It sounds like a “scary” idea but really, once you try it you will find it ingenious and fun. Here, I’m giving you a special recipe made with pork tenderloin, apples and pistachio from the Greek island of Aegina.
Aegina’s pistachio is a P.D.O (Protected Designation of Origin) product.
It is rich in proteins (26,5% to 28,4%), oils (52,1% to 53,8%),
sugar ( 5,3% to 6,5%) and its nutritional value per 100 gr is: protein:
12 gr, calories: 340, fat 29 gr, carbohydrates: 8 gr, fiber: 2 gr.
Of course, if you cannot find the original Aegina’s pistachio, you can use any other kind is available near you.
So, don’t be afraid to venture this recipe.
Ask your friends to taste it and I’m sure that they will love it, thus they will love you even more. Enjoy…
Stuffed Tenderloin with “Aegina” pistachio & apples
For four persons
INGREDIENTS:
2 pieces of pork tenderloin (appr. 1 ½ kilo)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
FOR THE STUFFING:
1 tbsp of butter
100 gr of pistachio (without the skin)
1 apple (piled and cut in cubes)
FOR THE SAUCE:
6 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1 large onion (grated)
FOR DECORATION:
2 apples (1 red, 1 green) cut into rounds
2 tbsp of brown sugar
HOW TO:
Thoroughly wash the meat and dry it on a piece of paper.
Season it well. Using your hands, open the two pieces of meat wide and hardly press it against the table, so that it becomes slim enough.
Place the two pieces of meat one under the other on a foil, in a way they form a rectangle.
In a frying pan and on a medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the apple cubes. Pour in the pistachio as well with a little water and leave them to boil for a few minutes, just until the apple is soften enough.
When ready remove from heat and slowly pour the stuffing in the centre of both pieces of meat starting from the top to the bottom.
Gently roll the meat, encircling the stuffing inside, forming a cylinder.
Use a culinary string to tie the meat to secure that the stuffing will stay inside.
If you don’t have a string you can use four or five toothpicks (just remember to remove them when serving).
With a brush, coat the meat with some olive oil.
Bake the tenderloin in a preheated oven in 180oC for 40 minutes (it depends on the meat’s size).
When ready, move it to a large plate and cut the meat into slices.
Take all the juice from the baking pan and pour it over the slices.
Last but not least, in a casserole or frying pan, warm the brown sugar with the olive oil on a low heat.
Sauté the apple rounds for a few minutes (be careful not to melt them, they must be firm) and use them to decorate your plate. Place them all around the meat.
That’s it. Now, be frank, it wasn’t too difficult, was it?
FRUITandCAKE 