Blueberry Stuffed Pork w/ Vegetable Barley Pilaf & Rapini

Ingredients

Method

SERVINGS: 4

Stuffed Blueberry Basil Spinach Pork Tenderloin

1. Preheat oven to 400F
   
2. Unravel the pork tenderloin into one long piece. Cut in half. (If already in two long pieces, omit this step.) Then 'butterfly cut' each half– you  make a tear cut, but do not cut all the way through, it needs to be intact so you can seal it. See the picture below point 8.
3. Sprinkle a little salt on each piece, and rub it in, to season and tenderize. Set aside.
   
   
   
4. Wash, dry blueberries and place in food processor or blender.
   
5. Add basil, garlic pieces and 15 ml of balsamic vinegar to the blueberries. Pulse to blend well into a smooth sauce, scraping down sides as needed.
6. Keep 30 ml of sauce, you'll need it for the gravy later.
   
7. With your hands or the back of a spoon, spread 5 ml of the blueberry sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
   
8. Spread a thin layer of more sauce onto each piece of pork. Then add half the spinach on top of each piece of pork.
   
   
   
9. Top the spinach with the sauce, divided evenly between each piece of pork.
   
10. Pick up both wide ends of the pork piece and push the “stuffing” into the crease of the pork. Push open sides of the pork together and thread with toothpicks to seal. Place, toothpick-side-up into the baking dish. Repeat with any additional pork pieces.
    
11. Cover the baking dish with a lid and cook in oven for 15 minutes. Baste with pan juices, continue cooking for another 10 minutes, uncovered. While pork cooks, start the vegetables.
    
12. Take out of oven, cover, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, before serving.  
    

Vegetable Barley Pilaf Bring water to boil in a pot. Add the quick-cook barley, stir, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop carrots, green onion and celery. Add oil to a fry pan, heat, and add the carrots, onions and celery. Stir to cook until tender. When barley is finished cooking, drain any remaining water, and add barley to the vegetables in frying pan. Sprinkle salt to taste. Stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes. Take off heat and cover until ready to serve

1. To a large pot of boiling water add the salt. Stir.
   
2. Add rapini and cook to blanch, about 2 minutes. Immediately plunge the rapini in cold water, or ice water if you can, to stop the cooking process. This helps to eliminate a bitter taste. Drain.
   
3. Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add the rapini to cook until heated. Keep warm until serving

1. You're going to use the juice from the pork tenderloin pan to make a gravy. Either pour the juice into a small pot or take the pork pieces out of pan, cover to keep warm.
2. Whether you chose a pot or the pan, place on medium heat and add the reserved blueberry mixture (gives it a bit of sharpness) and the remaining 15 ml of balsamic vinegar. Heat until hot.
   

To serve: Place a large scoop of vegetable barley pilaf on each plate. Cut each piece of the two pork pieces from the oven into slices and divide equally. Drizzle gravy on top. Add rapini. Serve immediately. Buon Appetito.

Source: Recipe courtesy of Loretta Friedrich, C.H.N.C., N.N.C.P. from Sprout Natural