A contemporary holiday dinner that we love, the Pear & Apricot Stuffed Pork Loin.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Pork loin (boneless, centre cut)
- 50 g Double smoked bacon (diced)
- 1 Shallot (diced)
- 1/4 Pear (diced)
- 1/4 cup Dried apricot (diced)
- 1/4 cup Sultana raisins
- 6 cloves Roasted garlic
- 3 sprigs Italian parsley (chopped)
- 2 sprigs Fresh thyme (leaves only)
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F
- Brown the bacon until crispy and evenly coloured, remove the bacon from the pan and place onto a paper towel. Keep the bacon fat and add the shallots to the pan and sauté on medium heat until soft. Then remove the pan from the heat and add the pears, apricots, sultanas, roasted garlic, fresh herbs and season with salt & pepper. Add the bacon back to the pan and drizzle the mixture with olive oil. Allow mixture to cool.
- Take the pork loin and push a long sharp knife into either end of the loin and carefully work it back and forth gradually widening the whole until you’ve cut a pocket through the centre from one end of the loin to the other without breaking through the sides.
- With your fingers and a spoon push the mixture into the pocket of the pork loin. If any stuffing is left over it can be baked in a small casserole dish with the pork loin.
- Season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper. Using a large enough pan sear the pork on high heat browning evenly on all sides.
- On a roasting tray, roast the pork until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 150°F. Remove the pork and allow resting for 15 minutes before slicing
