Recipe: Cajun-spiced pork stuffed with greens

The finished recipe looks as if a lot of time and fuss were made. Hardly! It's a cinch, especially if you have a steel knife sharpener in your possession.

Yield: 4 servings (about 8 slices)
Active Time: 30 minutes
Roast Time: 30-40 minutes
Cost: apx. $7.50

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cooked greens*
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs, freshly made or dried
• 1/2 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme, divided
• 1 pork tenderloin

*With your hands or a clean towel, squeeze as much water as possible from the greens before chopping. Greens such as spinach, kale, dandeloin, or turnip greens work well.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400?.
2. Combine salt, white and red peppers, paprika and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Rub mixture over the entire roast.
3. Combine cooked greens, remaining teaspoon thyme and bread crumbs. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix in egg. Carve a hole through the center of the pork tenderloin with a steel or sharp pointed knife. With your fingers, enlarge the hole to about 1/2-inch circumference. Stuff greens into pork and tie with twine, if desired.
4. Heat grape seed oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Sear pork on both sides until browned, about 3 minutes on each side.
5. Place roast on foil-lined sheet pan. Roast on center rack of oven until oven thermometer registers 155?, about 30-40 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Remove twine, slice into 1/2-inch pieces and serve.

This recipe was written by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Jan. 8, 2010.