Loin of pork stuffed with chorizo, spinach and lemon

This is a great little recipe. It's a pork tenderloin stuffed with chorizo, spinach and lemon. I've had it book marked on another blog, which I follow, for probably about four years now and because it's been so long I always forget to cook it.

The other day I was cruising the supermarket looking for inspiration, which is never a good idea because it always lands me back on old favorites. What I really wanted to do was slow cook something. I had ideas of slow cooked duck, lamb shanks or pulled pork for a relaxed Sunday evening meal. The problem is that I was going to be out all day and didn't fancy getting back late and trying to start roasting something.

Luckily I spied a tenderloin and this little baby popped into my head. You can prepare everything in advance and then just pop it in the oven for about half an hour. I also prepped and par-cooked some paprika and onion roast potatoes with go with this, that just needed heating through at the end. All it needed at that point was a bit of sauteed asparagus to complete it.

It felt pretty special, it was very tasty and mega easy on the day. I would recommend it.

Pork tenderloin stuffed with caramelised onion, chorizo, lemon and spinach stuffing 

Serves 4

1 pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cooking chorizo sausages, finely diced
150g baby leaf spinach
a handful of breadcrumbs (1-2 slices bread)
zest and juice of half a lemon
black pepper
12 rashers pancetta

Peheat the oven to 200c.

Cut the pork in half, lengthways. bash each piece of meat with a rolling pin (place the meat between a couple of layers of cling film or in a plastic bag) to flatten it a little.

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions until they begin to soften. Add the chorizo and fry until the meat is cooked and the onions have begun to caramelise. Add the spinach to the pan and cook until it wilts, placing a lid on the pan to make this easier. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and juice. Season well with salt and black pepper.

Place the pancetta rashers in a line, on a board, slightly overlapping. top this with one half of the pork tenderloin and cover this with the chorizo, spinach and lemon stuffing. top with the other half of the tenderloin and wrap the pancetta around it, sealing in the stuffing. place, seal side down, on a lightly-oiled baking tray and roast for 25-30 minutes, until the pork is cooked through. leave to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serve slices of stuffed pork with sauteed asparagus and  mini roast potatoes roasted in a little oil, smoked paprika, onion granuals, salt and pepper.