When making Healthy Choices, one of the first things I add to our weekly dinner rotation is Jenny-O All Natural Turkey Tenderloins. This versatile white meat is actually slightly lower in fat and calories than boneless skinless chicken breasts. And their mild flavor lends itself to recipe creativity. Like this flavor packed colorful Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin.
While Winter Thyme brings Spice Exploration to the pages of Lemony Thyme, it also brings less than desirable lighting for food photography. However, because I loved this dish so much I see nothing but beautiful flavor here. The stuffing began with a base of cinnamon infused couscous. To that I added sautéed onion and garlic that was seasoned with cumin and coriander.
Next came the aromatics: the nutty sweet flavors of dried pitted dates and shelled pistachios combined with the tart pop from fresh orange pieces and pomegranate seeds. I also added about a 1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro leaves. Flavor wow!! I have actually pictured this Moroccan Stuffing to share as a separate recipe. It’s amazing.
I’m a sucker for stuffing with anything. It is after all one of my favorite food groups. So I butterflied the tenderloins, pounded them to an even thickness (about 3/4-inch), then stuffed them with this glorious Moroccan influenced filling.
A little butcher’s twine helps keep everything in place. I lightly browned the stuffed tenderloins in an oven-proof skillet, then basted them with a wonderful spiced honey glaze before transferring them to the oven to bake. Pour yourself a glass of wine and set your timer for 30 minutes, give them another basting with the glaze, set your timer for 10 minutes and check for doneness. Recommended temperature is 165 degrees. We remove ours just before and let them rest for 10 minutes while coming up to temp. Slice and serve.
We reheated one of the Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloins by wrapping it in foil and placing it in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. It was just as delicious as when we first served this dish. Enjoy!
This Moroccan-style Roast Chicken recipe {link} was the inspiration for this dish.
- 1 24-ounce pkg. Jennie-O All Natural Turkey Tenderloins, pounded to ¾-inch thickness.
- ½ cup couscous
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 Tbl. olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, fine diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp. coriander
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 6 dried pitted dates, chopped
- ½ cup pistachios, chopped
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
- ¼ cup orange pieces, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 Tbl. honey
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. cumin
- salt & pepper
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Butterfly turkey tenderloins and pound to even thickness, about ¾-inch. Reserve.
- Combine ¾ cup water with 1 cinnamon stick in a small saucepan. Bring water to boil, stir in couscous and cover. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick, drizzle with 1 Tbl. olive oil and fluff with fork.
- Meanwhile, in an oven-proof skillet sauté onion in a tsp. of olive oil over medium heat until just tender; add in minced garlic, coriander and cumin; cook another minute.
- Add onion mixture along with dates, pistachios, pomegranate, orange pieces, and cilantro to couscous. Allow to cool slightly before stuffing tenderloins.
- Cut 3 pieces of 12-inch butcher's twine for each tenderloin. Lay butterflied tenderloin on top of strings. Split couscous between each tenderloin. Tie snuggly with twine. Add remainder of olive oil to skillet and brown tenderloins on all sides.
- Combine glaze ingredients and baste browned tenderloins. Transfer tenderloins to oven and bake for 30 minutes. Baste again, then bake an additional 10 minutes or until done. 165 degrees is the recommended temperature. Rest 5 - 10 minutes before slicing.
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