Pancetta & fennel encrusted pork tenderloin.
This recipe is always well-received when I make it. With a little preparation ahead of time, this dish will be a snap when dinnertime rolls around. Would also be wonderful to make for a dinner party because you can prep it ahead of time and then just bake for an hour & serve.
Pancetta & fennel paste…
1/4 lb of thinly sliced pancetta
12 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of fennel seeds
2 tbl of olive oil
1 tbl of a good balsamic vinegar
2 tbl of a good, drinking red wine
1 tsp of chopped fresh sage
1 tbl of dried rosemary
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of ground pepper
In your food processor, blend all of the ingredients until it forms a paste.
1 boneless pork tenderloin about 2-3 lbs
Trim the excess fat, if any, on your tenderloin. Cut some random small incisions along the tenderloin. Then take your pancetta paste and push it into the incisions and coat the meat. Cover and refrigerate the meat anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Remove the pork for 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the pork for about one hour. The internal temperature should be 140 degrees. When it reaches that point, remove from the oven and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Slice on the diagonal and serve over a bed of sautéed fennel (with olive oil and wine) or paired with vegetables and a salad.
— Knead to Cook