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| Cooking is much like writing. There is the researching, planning, improvising, revising, re-working and constant editing editing editing -- whether it be sentence structure or an ingredient list. |
After a frustrating day of writing,
I turned to the kitchen to release my creativity.
The result: spinach and cheddar-stuffed pork tenderloin
with sauteed grape tomatoes and
a delicious vegan potato leek soup.
Take that, writer's block!
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spinach and cheddar-stuffed pork tenderloin
(from Jacques Pepin: More Fast Food My Way)
What you'll need:
- 1 large pork tenderloin (about 1 1/4 lb)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 package baby spinach
- 1 package grape tomatoes
- 1/4 cup white wine (I like Chardonnay)
- handful of chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
What to do:
- Heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and onions for about 1 minute.
- Add spinach and about 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat for 1 1/2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.
- Remove the lid and cook until all the liquid is evaporated.
- Transfer to a plate and let cool.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Trim the tenderloin of any fat.
- Butterfly the tenderloin and tenderize with a meat tenderizer (I use plastic wrap and cover the meat when I beat it into submission).
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
- Add half the spinach mixture to the center of the tenderloin and top with cheese.
- Add the rest of the spinach.
- Carefully roll your tenderloin.
- Make aluminum foil strips and wrap your tenderloin so the spinach and cheese mixture doesn't spill out.
- Heat another 2 tbsp of oil in a large nonstick, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place the tenderloin on the pan, browning it on all sides (about 5 minutes each side).
- Remove foil strips from the tenderloin and bake in oven for 10 minutes.
- Transfer tenderloin to an ovenproof plate, cover and keep warm in oven (make sure you turn it off) while you prepare the tomatoes.
- Add grape tomatoes to the skillet you used to brown the tenderloin.
- Add wine.
- Add chopped parsley.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Saute over high heat for about 2 minutes, until tomatoes are soft.
- Slice the tenderloin crosswise into medallions (about 8 of them) and place them on a serving platter.
- Pour sauteed tomatoes over the medallions.
Vegan potato leek soup
(adapted from Jacques Pepin: More Fast Food My Way)
What you'll need:
- 3 leeks, washed and trimmed into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 package button mushrooms, sliced
- 8 cups veggie stock
- 2 cups instant mashed potatoes
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- salt and pepper to taste
What do to:
- Heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Saute leeks, onion and mushroom about 2-3 minutes, until veggies are soft.
- Add stock, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for another 3 minutes. Add instant potatoes and almond milk.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Don't be surprised if you slurp up two or three bowls of this stuff!
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Tune in below to Episode 219 of Jacques Pepin: More Fast Food My Way on KQED. You can see Jacques prepare the pork tenderloin and potato leek soup recipes (start the video at 4:15).
