Dinner, One Foodie, Recipe

Bacon Wrapped Pork-loin and Jalapeno Pimento Cheese Grits with Wilted Ramps

Posted by webaggression on
Wild Ramps
Wild Ramps

One of my favorite meals I made all year. Bacon Wrapped Pork-loin and Jalapeno Pimento Cheese Grits with Wilted Ramps was just perfect.

In the spring here in the South, we start seeing ramps pop up all over the place. Folks go back to the same place each year to harvest and many times don’t share. Fortunately for me, a small local grocery call Swamp Rabbit Grocery gets them in. EVERY time they are in stock, I’m buying them. They are fantastic! Like a cross between green onion, garlic and leeks, they have this amazing mouth-feel that is unexplainable. You can put them in eggs, sauces, vinaigrette or use them as an herb. Me? I could eat them raw. For this meal, I sauteed in rendered pancetta for a very short time.

I’ve made the pork-loin many times, include two of my other favorite meals (Soby’s Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes, Broccolini and Habanero Butter Sauce AND Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, Seared Okra and Pimento Cheese Grits). It is really good.

I’ve also made the Jalapeno Pimento Cheese Grits in the second linked post above. I love these grits. Before I started make grits this way, I had made all kinds of cheese grits, but using pimento cheese with jalapeno was a revelation.

Ingredients

  • 1 pork tenderloin
  • Bacon slices (I prefer Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked)
  • Grits (I prefer Anson Mills)
  • Pimento Cheese (I prefer Pawley’s Island Palmetto with Jalapeno)
  • Olive oil
  • Milk
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 thick slices pancetta
  • 2 bunches of wild ramps
  • Herb flowers

DIRECTIONS

  1. Set oven to 425 ° and set a large pan over medium high heat.
  2. Season the pork with salt and pepper and wrap with the bacon so that the seems are on the bottom of the tenderloin. You can use toothpicks to keep the bacon in place.
  3. Place the bacon wrapped pork in the hot pan seem side down and then sear on all sides. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until desired doneness (it is supposed to be 165 but I pull it before that). Place on a cutting board and allow to rest.
  4. Depending on the type of grits, cook per the instructions. I generally use half water and half milk. Also, if it calls for butter, I substituted olive oil. Just before serving mix in pimento cheese and allow to melt. For four servings I used 3-4 tablespoons.
  5. Clean ramps and dry thoroughly. Cut the roots only off and discard. Chop the white parts and leave the green parts whole.
  6. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook until fat is rendered out. Add ramps, can cook until slightly wilted.
  7. To serve, spoon some grits down, slice the pork and stack and then top with the ramps. Garnish with the herb flowers.
  8. Enjoy!

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