Dried fruits and roasted meats go together like hand in glove. In Eastern Europe, where summer fruits are preserved either by canning or drying, apricots, raisins, currants and pears, along with fresh apples find their way into stuffing for pork or fowl.
I've taken a liberty in this roast loin of pork by using dried cranberries in place of the raisins. Either way, it's a great Sunday dinner dish accompanied by fresh green vegetables. No need for a starch, it's already in the meat!
Makes 6 servings.
View this Step By Step.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
- 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- Pinch ground cloves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 4-pound boneless loin of pork
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Preparation:
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. To make stuffing, melt butter in a small skillet. Add onion and saute gently, about 10 minutes or until soft.
- In a medium bowl, place breadcrumbs, chopped apples, raisins, orange zest and cloves. Add sauteed onion and mix thoroughly. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together wine and sour cream. Transfer to a small roasting pan in which the pork will just fit. Set aside.
- Place pork roast, fat side down, on a cutting board. Make a horizontal cut in the center of the meat to within 1 inch of the edges and rear wall to create a pocket.
- Stand roast on end to make it easier to stuff. Push stuffing into the pocket. Turn the roast over and score the fat at 3/4-inch intervals, being careful not to cut through to the meat.
- Place the roast fat side down into the prepared roasting pan. Bake uncovered 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and flip roast over. Baste with pan juices. Sprinkle with sea salt. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 30 more minutes.
- Baste with pan juices. If top of roast is getting too brown, cover. Bake an additional 30 minutes or until internal temperature of meat (not stuffing) registers 160 degrees.
- Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes before carving.
- This would go great with braised red cabbage.
