Are you trying to figure out what to make for Christmas or New Year’s this year? Somehow planning out menus for holidays is always stressful, even for me. And I kind of do it for a living. And this year seems even more difficult. First of all , like everyone else, there is the fact that I have been cooking non-stop and am having a hard time thinking up something new and fun and dare I say festive?
Here in Italy there are some holiday givens. I know we’ll be having fish on Christmas Eve. And Christmas day will most likely be tortellini in brodo. But what about the main course on Christmas day? Or New Years?
And then I remembered a recipe that I included in The Italian Table. It ticks all the boxes: easy, different and kind of fancy.
I first had Pork Tenderloin with Hazelnuts at a lunch given by a princess in the garden at her castle outside of Rome. I’m not making that up. So I think the pedigree itself makes the dish kind of celebratory. But also the fact that it’s definitely on the rich side makes it the perfect cold weather holiday fare. And since it uses a cut of meat – pork tenderloin – that is on the smallish size, I’m thinking that it will also be perfect for a holiday meal that this year may only be for one or two people?
The countryside in the area of Lazio near Viterbo, where the castle is located, is covered with groves of hazelnuts, which tend to make their way into many dishes, including this main course. The pork tenderloin is cooked first and then briefly reheated in a rich sauce of hazelnuts, milk and stracchino cheese. Stracchino is the secret ingredient, and what gives the sauce its rich and tangy creaminess. This cheese is also called crescenza and usually comes pre-packaged. If you can’t find stracchino or crescenza, you can substitute mascarpone.
If there is one drawback to this recipe, it is how it looks. If you are searching for some sort of impressive glistening roast piece of meat then this is not the recipe for you. If, on the other hand, you don’t mind a pile of perfectly cooked sliced pork, covered in a kind of beige , but completely luscious and slightly decadent sauce, then buon appetito!
Pork Tenderloin with Hazelnuts
Yield 4
This recipe serves 4, and so uses 2 tenderloins which usually weigh about 1 pound each. If you’re making this for 1 or 2, just divide the recipe in half. And if you can't find stracchino or crescenza, you can substitute mascarpone, although it may be a bit less sour. In this case a squeeze of lemon at the end would work
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork tenderloin (2)
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Rosemary
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 - 4 tablespoons Stracchino
- 3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- You will probably have 2 tenderloins. Trim them of any visible fat. Wash and pat dry.
- Remove rosemary leaves from woody stem, and chop. Use the rosemary , salt and pepper to season the pork. Cover in plastic wrap and let sit for 20-30 minutes.
- Pour the olive oil into a heavy bottomed pan. Heat over medium high. Add the pork, which you have patted dry. Brown the pork well, on all sides, turning once one side is browed. Tip: when browning meat, wait to turn until the meat easily comes away from the bottom of the pan. This means it is fully browned. To not try to force it, or else bits will tear off and stick.
- The browning / cooking should take about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime roughly chop the hazelnuts.
- When the meat is done browning, remove from the pan and place on a dish to rest for 15 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to low, and add milk to pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the browned bits form the bottom of the pan. When it comes to a simmer, and the bits are dissolved add the cheese. Stir, melting the cheese, and add 1/2 cup of the chopped nuts. Let the sauce simmer and thicken a bit. Don't worry if the cheese looks a bit curdled and separates.
- Finish the dish by cutting the tenderloin into 3/4 inch slices. Place the slices back into the pan with the sauce to re-heat. Do not over cook, and it is ok if the meat is pink. You don't want to over cook the meat.
- To serve, place on platter topped with the sauce from the pan, and top with the remaining nuts.
This recipe is an excerpt from my book The Italian Table.
If you’d like to join me in Italy this spring, we’ll be cooking and eating dishes like this during our two Week in Umbria Food Tours we have planned. You can find more information, including the dates, here.
Might I use burrata in place of the stracchino? Or maybe a blend of creme fraiche and sour cream? Would that be too wet/fluid?
No, burrata wouldn’t work since it wouldn’t melt. And using creme fraiche or sour cream wouldn’t give it the cheesey taste or consistency. It would work, but wouldn’t taste the same.