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    Pork Pinwheels with Zucchiccine

    Stuffed and roasted pork loin with spinach and mushrooms… with plenty of feta cheese. How can it not turn into one of the most gourmet, sophisticated and elegant looking thing on your platter? These pork pinwheels will impress your family and guests this coming holiday season.

    And if you think it’s too complicated to pull off, THINK AGAIN. It’s so easy you are in for a big surprise!

    stuffed pork loin with two pinwheels cut from it atop a bed of zucchinicci

    Many of us assume something this pretty can only be achieved after taking some master chef class.  But often these fancy looking dishes are so straight forward and downright simple to cook they can be a regular weeknight meal. I always loved seeing those stuffed meat pinwheels in our grocery store and wanted to try them myself.

    A few years back we made our first attempt cooking these pork medallions. We enjoyed the flavors the stuffing imparts to your regular otherwise plain pork loin so much that we keep cooking it every now and then.

    close up of three pork pinwheels atop zucchinicci

    We vary the stuffing depending on what we have on hand, but most days it’s spinach, mushrooms and some kind of cheese. Sometimes it’s shredded mozzarella, but usually we use my favorite, feta. All of these flavors penetrate  nicely into the pork. We are thinking of our keto friends today, and thought this would go great with some zucchiccine. Yes, my take on zoodles… fettuccine style!!

    Let’s start these easy peasy, rollie pollie pinwheels:

    You need a nice sharp knife to unroll the pork loin. You can follow along with the collage if the instructions seem confusing.

    First, you make a lengthwise cut into the pork about 1/2-3/4 inches above the bottom of the roast. Stop about 1/2 inch before cutting all the way through. Now open the roast like a book. Make another cut from the seam into the thick half, again about 1/2-3/4 inches above the bottom. Now open that cut. See how it is beginning to unroll? Continue until you have a nice flat meaty surface.

    six picture collage depicting method for butterflying pork loin

    Now all you have to do is season the meat generously with salt and pepper and spread your spinach…

    45 degree view of butterflied pork loin topped with spinach

    Then lots of feta…

    45 degree view of butterflied pork loin topped with spinach and feta cheese

    Finally sautéed mushrooms (you can use raw but we like to sauté them for a few minutes in butter)…

    45 degree view of butterflied pork loin topped with spinach, feta cheese and mushrooms

    Roll all these things up in your roast and secure them with 3 or 4 pieces of kitchen twine.

    collage of five images depicting rolling the pork after adding stuffing ingredients

    Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on top with a bit of paprika. AND THAT’S IT! See how easy it is? Seriously, just cut and spread your meat and stuff it. And now it’s all hands-free cooking, as you are just going to stick that chunky roll in the oven and relax until it’s ready. While it’s cooking, you can check out my roundup of the 35 best Spinach Recipes.

    One important thing though. To roast perfect, moist, succulent pork, the trick with these leaner cuts is you need to get that magic cook time to make it cooked but not dried out. The answer to that is a good kitchen thermometer. For pork loin roasts, the suggested is 145-160F, though we prefer on the higher side of that range.

    For our side dish, we are going low-carb today with my zucchiccine. I love my spiralizer for zoodles. This time I am using fettuccine settings to get them a little broader than spaghetti style. BTW, by this time your kitchen would start smelling divine. After spiralizing I just sauté them for a few minutes in butter with salt and pepper.

    spiralized zucchini in a white bowl

    When the roast is ready, rest it for about 10 minutes before cutting. Then cut the pinwheels out of the roll and serve it over the bed of your zucchiccine… does such a term exist? Yes, in my dictionary! These pork pinwheels also go great with a variety of other sides, like mashed potatoes or mac and cheese.

    cooked pork roast with a fork sticking out of the top

    So… what are you waiting for? Try rolling these pinwheels and perfect them before the holiday company gets here. Make them a part of one of your big family dinners. As I said in the beginning, they are elegant, sophisticated and gourmet delicious!!

    Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, many more holiday dishes to come!

    Pork Pinwheels with Zucchiccine, on my Gypsy Plate… Enjoy!!!

    two pork pinwheels atop a bed of zucchicchini on the gypsy plate.

    Looking for more great ideas for your holiday spread?
    Lazy Sweet Potato Mash
    Classic Squash Casserole
    Fruity Nutty Crispy Brussels Sprouts
    Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel
    Butternut Squash Blossom
    Cherry Tomato Gratin
    Creamed Peas and Pearl Onions
    Chili Maple Roast Sweet Potatoes

    stuffed pork loin with two pinwheels cut from it atop a bed of zucchinicci

    Pork Pinwheels with Zucchiccine

    Yield: 8 servings
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

    Add a gourmet flair to your holiday spread with these fancy looking, yet easy to cook, pork pinwheels. Goes great with a variety of side dishes, today we are going keto-friendly with zucchiccini!

    Ingredients

    Pork Pinwheels

    • 3 lbs boneless pork loin
    • 8oz fresh spinach
    • 8oz mushrooms
    • 1 Tbsp butter
    • 4oz feta cheese
    • salt
    • pepper
    • paprika

    Instructions

    Pork Pinwheels

    1. Melt butter in small pan. Add mushrooms and sauté until softened, about 8-10 minutes.
    2. Meanwhile, set oven to preheat to 325°.
    3. Carefully, with a sharp knife, make a lengthwise cut in the pork about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom of the roast. Do not cut all the way through, instead stop about 1/2 from the edge. Fold top portion over, from inner fold cut again through the thicker portion of the roast, aiming to have a similarly thick bottom piece as the first cut. Repeat until you have a relatively flat piece of meat. (Please see collage picture above for a visual representation of the cutting.)
    4. Layer spinach, mushrooms and feta cheese along the length of the pork except the last portion to have been rolled over.
    5. Carefully roll the pork roast and toppings back up. Tie closed with kitchen twine. Move to baking dish.
    6. Sprinkle top with salt, pepper and paprika.
    7. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, check internal temperature. If needed, add time until internal temperature is 155°.
    8. Rest 10 minutes before slicing.

    Notes

    For a tangier twist, sometimes I add strips of sun dried tomatoes.

    Nutrition Information
    Yield 8 Serving Size 1
    Amount Per Serving Calories 393Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 153mgSodium 316mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 49g

    Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

    Did you make this recipe?

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    split image with cooked pork loin roast with a fork sticking in it. below is an image of the roast cut into pinwheels atop a bed of zucchini noodles.
    Picture of Alpana, blogger and recipe developer at GypsyPlate

    Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.

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