Goat Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Red Wine Balsamic Cherry Sauce

I saw this recipe on the foodnetwork a few months ago. The ideas of goats cheese with lemon wrapped in pork and balsamic cherry sauce were making my mouth water. I wanted to try it but I could not find any fresh cherries at the time. Now that cherries are in season I finally got to try it. This recipe is a bit more work than some but it is well worth the effort.

I have never cooked a stuffed pork loin before. A lot of the cheese mixture leaked out of the pork but enough was left inside. (The burnt cheese in the pan tasted great!) The melted and burnt cheese in the pan made making the cherry sauce a bit more challenging.

Note: Be absolutely careful to alway use oven mitts when touching the pan after it has come out of the oven. I was momentarily distracted, forgot and grabbed the pan... It was very painful! I have been putting off writing this post for a while now. I actually made this two weeks ago and the blisters on my are still not fully healed. Hopefully I have learned my lesson and will never make this mistake again.

Despite the painful memories this recipe tastes great and I will be making it again.

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup soft goat cheese (crumbled)
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon basil (chopped)
1 teaspoon black pepper (ground)
butcher twine (I used unwaxed and unflavoured floss)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup cherries (pits removed and chopped)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Butterfly cut the pork lengthwise. (A butterfly cut is where you cut the pork as if you were going to cut it in half but stop cutting 1/2 inch from the end. This way you can roll up the pork and form a pocket.)
2. Lay the pork out flat with the cut open.
3. Season the inside of the pork with salt and pepper.
4. Mix the cheese, lemon zest, and basil and ground black pepper in a bowl.
5. Spread the cheese mixture on the inside of the pork leaving a 1/2 inch border free.
6. Roll the pork up sealing the cheese mixture inside.
7. Tie the pork roll with butchers twine in one inch intervals.
8. Rub olive oil onto the outside of the pork roll.
9. Season the outside of the pork roll with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Heat the olive oil in an oven proof pan.
11. Cook the pork tenderloin in the pan until the whole outside is golden brown.
12. Place the pan with the pork into a preheated 400F oven and cook for about 12 minutes.
13. Place the pork roll on a plate and let it rest.
14. Place the pan back on the stove. (Use oven mitts as the pan will be very hot.)
15. Pour the red wine into the pan and scrape the bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon.
16. Add the cherries, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
17. Let the liquid reduce for a few minutes.
18. Slice the pork, plate it and drizzle with the cherry sauce.



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