Stuffed Pork Rolls (& Cannellini Bean Dip)

January 26, 2011  •  Appetizers, Beans & Grains, Meat & Poultry

I love it when my girl comes home. We chat about her hopes and dreams, pick over our food blogs, there’s always lots of laundry to be done (she hasn’t done it at her apartment in Breckenridge yet, despite having lived there since August!), and we cook. Sometimes it’s elaborate (like our lobster adventure) and sometimes it’s a more homey meal that is easily put together like the one we had last night.She had been wanting to work on a stuffed pork loin recipe, but when I dug through the freezer discovered that my processor had cut all of the loin into chops. So instead we pounded a few chops very thin……and spread a thin layer of some leftover cannellini bean dip on each piece. As an aside, how have I not posted that appetizer? I make it all the time for cooking dinner parties and serve it with some pita chips for dipping.I had a bunch of apples left from cooking at a local school last week, plus it seemed seasonal, so we minced up an apple very finely (no need to remove the skin) and sprinkled a layer over the bean spread, then covered that with a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella cheese.We rolled each piece up and placed them seam side down in a glass baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.In hindsight, leaving the ends open like that allowed much of the cheese to ooze out while cooking, so next time I think I’d fold the ends over and then roll up, more in the style of an eggroll. My daughter didn’t seem to mind and just scooped up her cheese from the baking dish and spread it on top of the finished dish to eat. You could also leave the cheese out, then sprinkle over the top during the last few minutes of baking.This is the kind of elevated every day cooking I like to teach people. It was really simple and quick to prepare, was ready in 30 minutes from the oven, yet it took the humble pork chop to a higher level. Hope you enjoy it – we did!

Stuffed Pork Rolls & Cannellini Bean Dip
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe type: Appetizer,Entree
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 can cannellini beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained
  • 4 cloves roasted garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
  • 2-4 tablespoons water, or more as needed
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4 center cut pork loin chops, excess fat trimmed and pounded thin
  • 4 tablespoons Cannellini Bean Dip
  • 1 apple, cored and minced fine
  • ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
  1. Combine beans, garlic, cumin and rosemary in a food processor and pulse to roughly chop. Then, with the motor running, slowly add water until a thick dip consistency is achieved. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pita crisps if not using in pork rolls.
  2. Spread each pork chop with a tablespoon of Cannellini Bean Dip, then sprinkle the chops with the apples and cheese. Carefully fold a small piece over on each side and then roll up from the narrow end to the wider end (like you are rolling an egg roll) and place seam side down in a glass baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cover with foil and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. If you prefer, leave cheese out of each roll, simply roll up each chop without tucking the sides in first, and sprinkle on top to melt during the last 5 minutes of baking.
Notes
<em>While we didn't serve it this way, a thin apple cider based pan gravy made using the pork scraps would be excellent drizzled on top! </em>

 

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