The best roasted pork loin stuffed with pancetta, Swiss chard and provolone cheese. It brings me back so many childhood memories! It’s simply delicious, the kids loved it and it was gone in one meal. No leftovers 🙂
When you see a roasted pork loin on Pinterest or Instagram you might be intimidated and think it’s a difficult recipe. It’s not. Follow my recipe step by step and you will become a pro in stuffed roast meats (pork, beef or chicken). I wanted to show you the whole process, from the butterfly cutting part, to the filling and the use of the kitchen twine to tie the roast. If I can do it, you can do it too 🙂
WHICH KIND OF MEAT CAN I USE IF I DON’T EAT PORK?
I like pork loin as it’s more flavorful compared to chicken, more tender than turkey and less expensive compared to beef, but you can easily switch to any of them, same procedure. I would suggest chicken breast or chicken thigh. If you prefer beef you can buy eye of round, sirloin tip or top sirloin beef cuts. For turkey, I would suggest a turkey breast.
CAN I STUFF THE PORK LOIN WITH A DIFFERENT COMBO?
I chose the stuffing my mom used to prepare when I was a child: pancetta with a green (Swiss chards in this recipe) and provolone cheese. It’s a great combo of flavors. In this case too you can play with the ingredients.
If you don’t like/find pancetta you can substitute with ham or prosciutto or bologna/mortadella. Swiss chards can be substituted with spinach, asparagus, green beans, any other greens you like. I suggest to boil the greens first for a few minutes and then sauté them with garlic, salt and olive oil to season them. If you add the greens not seasoned you will loose in flavor.
IS THIS A KID FRIENDLY OR BABY FRIENDLY RECIPE?
Yes! Don’t underestimate your little ones 🙂 The meat is very tender once cooked. I would serve it to a toddler in small pieces, bite size. You can also slice the roast and divide the ingredients in your little one’s plate. If you are serving purees to your baby, place a slice of roast in a cup and transform everything into a smooth cream adding few tablespoons of water or milk.
Salt. That’s the only difference when cooking for little ones. Limit the amount. You can always add some salt in your portion later. For this recipe, cut in half the suggested amount of salt.
WHICH HERBS CAN I USE?
I love rosemary for this recipe. You can also add few sage leaves or thyme. I used fresh rosemary, but dried herbs will work too.
HOW TO BUTTERFLY A PORK LOIN?
Never done it before? Don’t worry, it’s not difficult. Check this step-by-step video and you will become a pro!
HOW TO TIE A ROAST WITH KITCHEN TWINE?
Have you ever tied a roast with some kitchen twine? No? Don’t worry, it’s not difficult! Check out the video here below.
INTERESTED IN MORE MEAT RECIPES?
stuffed zucchini with beef and cauliflower
braised beef with apples and roots
chicken bites with pancetta, cheese and sage
A juicy pork loin stuffed with rich flavors
- 2 lb pork loin (1Kg) around that weight, doesn't need to be precise
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled, roughly chopped 4 for the stuffing, 4 for the pork loin
- 8 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 4 for the stuffing, 4 for the pork loin
- 1 cup salted chicken broth you can use beef/vegetable broth
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 1 roll chicken twine
- 1 lb swiss chard, boiled and squeezed
- 4 oz sliced pancetta
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 1 tsp sea salt
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Prepare the greens. In a large pot boil the Swiss chard for 4 minutes. Drain, let it cool down and squeeze the extra water.
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In a skillet heat 4 Tbsp oil at medium high. Add 4 cloves of garlic, minced and cook for 1 min up until the garlic gets golden. Add the squeezed Swiss chard, season with 1/2 tsp sea salt and cook for 2 minutes. Switch the heat off and let it cool down.
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Let't butterfly the pork loin. With a sharp knife cut the loin on the length 1/3 of the thickness. Do not cut completely, you want to open it as a book page. See the video for more details. Flip the loin on the other side and turn it upside down. You will see that there is a 1/3 edge in the center of the loin. That will be your track for your second cut. Start from the center and proceed to the edge without cutting completely. You are creating a second page. The final result will be an evenly regular flat rectangle. Flatten it evenly with a kitchen hammer. You are ready to stuff it!
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Layer the pancetta slices all around the pork loin surface. Add the Swiss chard mix in the center and top with the provolone cheese. Roll the loin on the long length on itself to form a cylinder.
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Watch the video on how to tie the loin with the twine. You will need only two knots.
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Heat 4 Tbsp of olive oil in a dutch oven or very tall and long skillet (it needs to fit the pork loin roast nicely) at medium high heat. Add 4 cloves of garlic and when the oil is heated add the pork loin roast. Sear on each side for a few minutes each. I use the thongs to move the roast. When your roast surface will be nicely browned reduce the heat to minimum and add 1 cup of broth on the sides. Add also the rosemary. Cover with the lid and simmer for 1 hour.
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Let the pork loin cool down and rest for 5 minutes before slicing it and serving it.
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