Italian Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pork Wellington/Broccoli Rabe Slaw and Honey Mustard Sauce

For the stuffing

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup onion diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 Italian sausages casings removed

¼ cup panko crumbs

1 cup thinly sliced broccoli rabe

1/3 cup dried currants

½ cup tart apple juice (such as Honeycrisp)

¼ cup diced tart apple (such as Honeycrisp)

Salt and pepper to taste (sausage is salty so be careful with the salt)

For the Wellington

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 pork tenderloin medallions about 4 ounces each seasoned with salt and pepper

1 puff pastry sheet defrosted

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

For the Honey Mustard Sauce

½ cup honey mustard sauce (From Village Tavern in Carol Stream)

½ tart apple juice (such as Honeycrisp)

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

For the Slaw

2 cups of broccoli rabe leaves cut in a chiffonade and slice the broccoli rabe flowers

½ cup apple cut into tiny strips

1/8 cup dried currants

1 tablespoon of the honey mustard sauce

Prepare the Stuffing first: Add olive oil to saute pan (or cast iron skillet). Once oil is heated saute the onion for about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute or so. Sausage is next (casings removed) in the skillet, cook for about 5-7 minutes until meat is done. Make sure to break the meat into small pieces while you are cooking. Once meat is cooked add the panko crumbs and stir well. Now add the broccoli rabe, currants and apple juice in that order. Stir until the apple juice is absorbed. Salt and pepper to taste. Remember that the sausage is salty so be careful with the salt. Cool the mixture while you cook the pork tenderloin. Once the mixture is cooled you can add the apple. Do not add the apple to the hot stuffing mix, you want to retain the crunch of the apple.

Cooking pork tenderloin medallions: Add olive oil to the same pan used for cooking the stuffing. Once heated, add seasoned pork tenderloin medallions. Cook each side for 2-3 minutes until nicely browned, get the sides as well, total time is about 8 minutes or so. Make sure not to overcook meat, it should still have some pink inside. It will continue to cook in the oven. Set tenderloins aside to cool while you prepare the puff pastry.

Puff pastry: Your puff pastry needs to be thawed. Once thawed, roll out the sheet to make about 50 percent bigger. Trim sides to make it square. (save scraps if you want to make a decorative top to the wellington) Divide into 4 equal squares. Prepare egg wash by whisking the egg with the water.

For the Wellington: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take one square of the puff pastry and put a cooled pork medallion in the center. Take about 2-3 tablespoons of the stuffing and form into a meatball to fit on top of the pork medallion. Take one corner and bring it up to the top of the stuffing. Brush with egg wash. take opposite corner and bring it up to meet the opposite corner and brush with egg wash. Pick one of the other sides to bring up to center. You will need to tuck in the sides to bring up the corner then brush with egg wash. Do the same thing to the final side. If you decide to decorate you can cut leaves out of the puff pastry scraps. Then use egg wash as glue to put the leaves on top of the wellington. Once done decorating then brush the top and sides with egg wash. Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Make the Honey Mustard Sauce: Whisk together the honey mustard, apple juice and olive oil. Use to dress the Broccoli Rabe slaw and the rest will be used to pour on the bottom of the plate. You could also put a serving in a ramekin for dipping the wellington in.

Broccoli rabe slaw: Put broccoli rabe in a bowl with the chopped apple and dried currants. Dress lightly with the honey mustard dressing.

- Kim Bradley