There are a lot of different flavors going on here. Once again, the hallmark of great Italian cooking, simple ingredients combined to make a great tasting dish. And each ingredient does not mask the other but stands out on it’s own to work in harmony with each other.

Pork tenderloin is a delicate meat to begin with. The butter wine sauce that’s made in the preparation of this dish brings out the flavors of the fresh sage and piquant taste of the provolone. The Italian sausage stuffing just ties it all together. A truly delicious taste sensation in every bite.

My grandmother made a lot of dishes this way. Few ingredients that work together, experiencing a totally different flavor when combined. She did it with her chicken and lemon, and her pork chops and broccoli that I’ll share in a future blog. And this dish is a further example of truly good, simple Italian fare.

The hardest part of this recipe is preparing the pork loin. For those with some cooking experience this is a moderately difficult dish. For a beginner it can be daunting.  If you don’t want to tackle the butterflying of the loin along with the tying of the roast I suggest you have your butcher butterfly it for you. But you will have to attempt to tie the roast unless you want to give the ingredients to your butcher and have him put it together. It pays to have a good butcher in the neighborhood.

I’m self taught when it comes to butchering. Maybe it’s something in the genes that I inherited from my grandfather and his father, both butchers. I remember one year I actually boned an entire 15 pound turkey. It took a little time but I eventually got the hang of it. I later stuffed the turkey and rolled and tied it into a roast. I brought it to Christmas dinner one year. All I can say is, you need a good sharp knife. You need the right tools to do the right job. I invested in a set of top quality knifes years ago and it has paid off in spades. They will last you a lifetime and make tasks like this one much easier. You can’t cut a tree down with a nail file.

Roasted Stuffed Pork Tenderloin With Potatoes

• One 2 1/2 pound boneless pork tenderloinloin, butterflied lengthwise and flattened until 1/3 inch thick
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4-5 sage leaves, coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced
• 3 cooked Italian sausages, cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices
• all purpose flour for dredging
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 2 pounds of peeled potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Preparing the tenderloin of pork

Whole pork tenderloin usually comes in two pieces. Work each piece separately. Take your sharp boning knife and make a slit down the middle of the tenderloin.

Cut about half way through and open up the loin, hence the butterfly cut.

Keep slicing until the loin is laying flat, being careful not to cut all the way through. Do the same with the other piece.

 Once you have both loins butterflied, lay one down on top of a piece of plastic wrap and cover it with another piece of plastic wrap.

Pound it with a kitchen mallet to flatten it out. Do the same with the second piece.

OR YOU CAN HAVE YOUR BUTCHER BUTERFLY AND FLATTEN YOUR PORK LOIN.

Once you have both pieces flattened, lay one slightly overlapping the other, by about an inch. Now you can stuff the tenderloin.

Season one side of the flattened piece of pork with salt and pepper and arrange the sage, cheese, and sausages over it evenly.

Roll it up on the long side and tie with butchers string.

First tie each end with a good knot then add three more ties evenly spaced around the middle.

Take a length of butcher string,double the length of the loin and tie with a knot to one of the end ties. Go under and around each tie as you thread the string up one side of the roast then turn and do the same for the other side, securing the last tie with a knot. You know have a tied roast ready for baking.

 Dredge the roast with flour.

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and brown the roast all over. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half.

Transfer the roast and liquid to a roasting pan.

Add the broth and potatoes. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 hour.

Remove the roast and let cool 10 minutes before cutting int 1/2 inch thick slices.

Strain the liquid in the pan and serve with the potatoes and pork.