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?

2-for-1 Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Source: adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1  lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 c chopped dried figs OR dried cranberries
1/2 c crumbled blue cheese OR Gorgonzola
1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 T 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.

Yields 4 servings. Weight Watchers Points Plus:  6 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per serving from myfitnesspal.com: 242 calories, 15 g carbs, 8 g fat, 27 g protein, 1 g fiber