Fillet of pork stuffed with spinach, feta cheese and dried tomatoes

I have a somewhat ambivalent view on pork, probably a result of the many meat scandals during my youth. Back then it became fashionable to pay a farmer to raise your very own (presumably organically fed) pig, which my parents duly did. I think my mother never realized that she was expected to partake in the slaughter of said pig! As it happens, she "overslept" on that particular day and only arrived once the deed was already done :-)

But while I normally prefer chicken, beef, veal or lamb, I do occasionally feel a craving for a nice fillet of pork. The meat is very tender (prepared properly at least) and not as fatty as some other cuts of pork. In this case I elected to stuff my fillet with feta cheese, spinach, and dried tomatoes. As side dishes I served roast sweet potatoes with feta cheese and some spinach.

Ingredients (serves 2-3): 


1 fillet of pork (400-500gr)
1/2 packet of feta cheese
1 handful of sundried tomatoes

500gr fresh spinach
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
salt, pepper, nutmeg, olive oil

Preparation: 

1. First of all, you need to prepare the meat - your aim being to create a large surface which you can then fill and roll up. This is best done by first placing a long cut along the middle of the fillet (taking care not to cut all the way through) and folding the two sides outwards as far as possible. In order to flatten the two sides of the fillet, repeatedly cut into the meat (lengthwise) always making sure not to cut too deeply. Finally, pound the meat using a rolling pin in order to create as large a surface as possible. If you are unsure how to do this, ask your butcher to do it for you.


2. Wash the spinach. Finely chop the shallots and the garlic and heat some oil in a pan. Gently fry roughly 1/3 of the garlic and shallots until they just start to brown, then add 1-2 handful of the spinach. Once the spinach is cooked (this takes only a few minutes), season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool off. Don't rinse the pan, you are going to need it again later on.


3. Season the pork from both sides and spread it out on your work surface. Fill with the cooked spinach, the feta cheese and some roughly chopped sundried tomatoes. If you want to, you can also add some roasted pine nuts. Once the filling is in, carefully roll up the meat and tie it up using some kitchen string (in case you haven't done this before, take look at this video: Tying a roast). 


4. Once the pork has been filled and tied up, place it on the pre-heated  barbeque (medium heat) for 25-30 mins. During this time, fry the remaining shallots and garlic in your pan and add the rest of the spinach. Season generously with salt, pepper and some nutmeg. 

5. Once the meat is done, remove from the barbeque, cut off the string and slice before serving.