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04/16/08 |
                          
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Roasted Pork Tenderloin Roulade
Yield: About 5 or 6 portions
1 ea. pork tenderloin 1 ea. red onion, medium dice 2 oz. walnuts, chopped 8 oz. ricotta cheese 1 ea.. red pepper 2 oz. basil oil 2 oz. garlic oil Salt 'n' pepper to taste
Chop onion and caramelize over medium to medium-low heat. Toast walnuts in a skillet or very hot oven and chop. Slice red pepper in thin strips, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast in a 400 degree oven until the edges begin to char a bit. Let the peppers cool, then chop into small dice. Combine onion, walnuts, red peppers and ricotta cheese; set aside. Combine oils, set aside. Butterfly pork tenderloin lengthwise, pound with a flat mallet (NOT THE POINTY ONES!) to about 1” thick. Spread stuffing mixture on tenderloin, roll tightly and seal with butcher’s twine. Roast to an internal temperature of 165° in 325° oven, cool and slice into five or six pieces. To garnish, drizzle each slice with about a half ounce of the mixed oils. Serve with something suitably yummy, like roasted garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes and some sautéed veggies.
Note from GG: Roulade is just a fancy way of saying, "rolled," in case you couldn't figure that out. They're pretty easy to make, but keeping them in their proper rolled state can be a bit tricky, which is why I suggest trussing it with some twine. Always better to be safe than sorry. Caramelizing onions is one of the most patience-testing processes that I've performed in the kitchen. It takes a long time before they start to get dark and sweet, during which you'll convince yourself several times that they're done, and to hell with this whole project. Verily, continue on your quest until they're the color of mahogany, and you will be rewarded with flavour the likes of which you've not tasted. Chef Dan at school did this one thing where he caramelized the onions in balsamic vinegar and served them on a grilled chicken sandwich. That was some AWESOME eatin', yo. As for the infused oils, they're way easy to make, and you can put pretty much any flavor you want in them! If you have something that's going bad (herbs, fruit, aromatic veg or whatever), just chop 'em up and let them simmer in some olive or canola oil. If the oil starts to boil, turn the heat down. It should just barely be simmering, but it's better if it's just kinda warm. The flavours from whatever it is that you put in there will totally permeate the oil after about 15 minutes or a half hour, at which time you can just strain out the chunks and put the oil some place to cool. Olive oil is better for savory oils (like garlic or basil), whereas any of the lighter oils (canola, grapeseed) should work for fruits or more delicate flavours. One thing you may not know is that oil can go bad REALLY fast if it's exposed to air and/or sunlight for too long. Make sure you keep it tightly sealed and in some dark area for maximum flavour action! Remember that the oil is just *garnish*, so please don't douse the roulade slice, lest ye taste nothing at all but the oil.
This site was last updated 12/20/06 |
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