Bacon-Wrapped
Pesto Pork Tenderloin ala ~DKBB~
(original
recipe by Holly Sander in Feb/Mar 2017 edition of Simple & Delicious)
4-6 bacon strips
½ pork tenderloin (½ lb.)
¼ tsp. cracked pepper
¼ cup prepared pesto
½ cup shredded Italian cheese
blend
½ cup fresh baby spinach
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Place bacon strips width-wise,
overlapping a bit, in foil-lined 15x10x1 pan (or just use a foil pan that size
and skip the lining-with-foil part).
- Using ½ of a pre-package pork
tenderloin (freeze the other half), cover the meat with plastic wrap and pound
it with a meat mallet to ½-inch thickness; remove plastic wrap; place flattened
tenderloin centered perpendicularly on the bacon strips.
- Sprinkle pepper over pork, spread
on pesto, then add cheese then spinach.
- Close (roll up) tenderloin,
wrapping the outside with the bacon strips; tie all with kitchen string (a
wrapping method with the string works well…you want to be sure all the bacon is
tied around the tenderloin); secure ends with toothpicks if necessary.
- Using a 12-inch skillet, brown
the bacon-wrapped tenderloin on all sides (about 8 minutes).
- Return the now-browned
bacon-wrapped tenderloin to the roasting pan; roast in the oven until a meat
thermometer inserted into the pork reads 145° (17-20 minutes).
- Remove string and toothpicks, let
stand 5 minutes before slicing.