INGREDIENTS:
Stuffed Pork Fillet with Pesto
“VISITORS WILL THINK YOU'VE BEEN IN THE KITCHEN ALL DAY. A GREAT "BANG FOR THE BUCK" DISH FOR A DINNER PARTY”
See recipe in Soups & Sauces section
PESTO:
2 pork fillets (about 500g each)
200g smoked king island cheese
½ cup grated pizza cheese
200g swiss brown mushrooms
6 slices short cut bacon
packet of baby spinach
around 14 slices of proscuito
Trim the ends of each fillet, and then cut in half. Take each of the four halves and slice horizontally in half without going all the way through. Then open out each piece in a butterfly, cover with cling wrap and just very lightly tap out with a mallet to flatten.
Cut the eyes from the bacon rashers discarding any fat, and trim them to the width of the pork fillets, and set aside.
Slice the smoked cheese and the mushrooms thinly. Layer the smoked cheese on one side of the pork fillet butterfly, and the bacon in a single layer on top of that, then mushrooms, spinach, and then top off with some pizza cheese. Fold over the other side of the pork to enclose.
Lay the proscuito out on a board side by side, and overlapping a centimetre on each slice, until just longer than the pork pieces. Place the pork at the bottom of the slices, and roll up reasonably tightly. Wrap and tie with kitchen string.
Bake in a 200 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes or until pork is done to your liking. During this time make the pesto. Remove pork and rest, lightly covered in foil for 5-10 minutes.
Place a piece of pork on each serving plate and drizzle some of the pesto over the top.
Two fillets will feed four - Three will do six etc.
Not hard at all - a little fiddly - but worth it
THE PESTO ALSO GOES REALLY WELL OVER STEAMED KIPFLER OR CHAT WHOLE POTATOES.
TRY TO WRAP THE PORK IN THE PROCUITO AS WELL AS POSSIBLE TO PREVENT CHEESE 'ESCAPING' DURING COOKING (ALTHOUGH IF SOME DOES, THE CRUNCHY CHEESE ON THE OUTSIDE IS REALLY GOOD TOO).