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Mar 09
13

2-for-1 Stuffed Pork Tenderloin: Figs & Blue Cheese OR Cranberries & Gorgonzola

Decisions, decisions. The original recipe I found called for a fig and blue cheese filling, and I couldn’t wait to make it because that salty/sweet combination had my mouth watering. Then I read through the user reviews and saw that several posters had made it with dried cranberries and Gorgonzola cheese. Yum. Which to choose? Both pairings sounded absolutely delectable to me, so I decided to find out what you would prefer. I posed the question to fans of the Emily Bites Facebook Page, and after those responses were also evenly split, I finally chose not to choose – I split the fillings down the middle and made both!

After tasting both, I still can’t identify a favorite option, as each brought something delicious to the table. Figs and blue cheese offer such distinct, bold tastes and the dichotomy of both the flavors (sweet vs. salty) and the textures (gritty vs. creamy) appealed to me, though people who are turned off by the grittiness of the fig seeds may want to opt for the cranberries. Gorgonzola, also a type of blue cheese, and dried cranberries felt like a more familiar flavor combination, but tasted equally decadent. The cranberries were both sweet and tart and paired beautifully with the rich and salty Gorgonzola.  Either variation would be great for company because they’re simple to put together but they look impressive! I’ve now passed the decision on to you – which one will you make?

Print

2-for-1 Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1  lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
  • 1/2 cup chopped dried figs OR dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese OR Gorgonzola
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon apple butter (original recipe used apple jelly)
  • *be sure to have either twine or toothpicks on hand to seal the meat closed after rolling it around the filling

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. Butterfly the pork tenderloin (cut in half lengthwise, almost all the way through, but not quite, and then spread open to lay flat) and then place meat between two pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper. Pound meat to ½ inch thickness using a meat mallet. Sprinkle the fillings of your choice (blue cheese & figs or cranberries & Gorgonzola) evenly over the pork, leaving ½ around the edges. From the long side, roll up the pork and hold the meat closed either by tying twine around it at two inch intervals or by sticking toothpicks through both sides to seal it. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the pork and place on prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from oven. Using a pastry brush, brush the apple butter over the top of the pork. Return the pork to the oven for another 5 minutes and remove from oven. Let meat stand for 10 minutes and discard twine/toothpicks before slicing.

MyWW SmartPoints per (1/4th of the recipe) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Green: 7 SmartPoints/ Blue: 7 SmartPoints/ Purple: 7 SmartPoints

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
6 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Nutrition Information:
242 calories, 15 g carbs, 12 g sugars, 8 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 27 g protein, 1 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

adapted from Cooking Light

13 comments on “2-for-1 Stuffed Pork Tenderloin: Figs & Blue Cheese OR Cranberries & Gorgonzola”

  1. This looks wonderful!! I bet this could go on the grill in the summertime, too!

  2. I am making this tonight, except with Blue Cheese and Cranberries!!

  3. I did blue cheese and dried cranberries and it was amazing!

  4. Made this tonight and it was not only delicious, but quick to make!

  5. I made this for “fancy” lunch today. I used the cranberry/gorgonzola pairing. Delish! It looked so elegant. Thank you for posting such great recipes.

  6. Very nice recipe. I made it as you directed. It is (obviously) important to make sure the two halves are uniformly thick. Otherwise,Delicious! I didn’t have apple butter but did have fig jam and that worked really nice as a topping.. Made a side dish of roasted cauliflower and fennel mash with a little cheese and cream. Nice complement.

  7. what can i use instead of apple butter that i might have on hand? honey??

  8. Made this tonight. So good. Will make again.

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