Pork, Pasta, and Pesto, oh my!

A little later on I started making one of my favorite recipes. I was going to use white beans in the reduction, as mentioned before, but then I realised I only had kidney beans so I decided on them instead. I made my pork meatballs out of fresh and dried herbs, garlic, and lean pork tenderloin. Of course I wanted to use tenderloin instead of fattier pork sausage, but I still wanted “meatballs”, so I used my mini-food chopper to give it a nice grind. Alongside I also had some of my fresh homemade pesto (made with basil from my AeroGarden) tossed with some whole wheat penne pasta. I would usually use linguine, but then I got to thinking about how penne rigate has nice ridges and pockets to help the pesto adhere. I think I liked the switch of pasta shapes – it really worked with this recipe. Sadly, my pictures are nothing to brag about. I’ll try to get them in better lighting next time.

The Pork...

And the Pasta...

 

Well nonetheless, here’s the recipe so you can try it yourself at home! It’s taste will redeem it from these crappy snapshots.

Pork Meatballs with White Bean Reduction and Pesto Pasta

First things first, you will need to make the pesto. This is probobly one of the easiest parts. Just get out your food processor and go!

• 1 cup packed fresh chopped basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp ground sea salt or kosher salt
• 1/2 oz. parmesean cheese (use a good quality one here)
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 oz. walnuts (or pinenuts)

Just chop that all up together, beginning with the nuts and garlic, and ending with the basil and oil of course. You can add more EVOO if you like your pesto to be thinner, alhough I usually thin it out in the end with a little of the leftover pasta cooking water. This makes about four tablespoons, which will feed 4-6 people. I usually make 1-2 oz. (dry-weight) of pasta for each person, so you can decide on that depending on how many servings you are making for dinner.

Now for the pork…

• 1 lb. lean, trimmed pork tenderloin
• 2 tsp fresh herbs (your choice)
• 1 tsp salt-free Italian seasoning (I like Mrs. Dash’s Italian)
• 1/2 oz. parmesean cheese (optional)
• 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs (I use stale, crumbled Ezekiel bread)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste (don’t taste the raw meat! Hahah.)

For the sauce…

• 2 cups cooked white beans
• 1 cup diced, not-salt-added tomatoes
• 1 cup garlic pasta sauce (I like Classico)

Just combine all the meatball ingredients in your handy dandy food processor or chopper until the pork looks like ground beef and the herbs are well incorporated. Then, in a deep nonstick skillet or sauce pan, brown the meatballs slightly on both sides. Then add in the beans, tomatoes, and sauce and simmer covered over medium-low heat for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot with fresh Italian bread or the pesto pasta! This recipe makes about four servings at about 430 calories each. I usually have a side salad and some green beans or peas on the side as well. Gotta have my greens!

I really do hope you can all try this sometime soon. The pictures DO NOT do this recipe justice, so please don’t let that stop you.