Arista - Tuscan Herbed Roasted Pork

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A few weeks ago I was notified that my blog had been randomly selected as the winner of a Foodie Blogroll giveaway and that I would receive an autographed copy of Judy Francini's new book, Secrets from My Tuscan Kitchen. When the book arrived I spent an evening paging through it and selecting recipes I wanted to try. Arista - today's recipe - is a Tuscan pork roast similar to the Tuscan Pork Loin, already on my blog. I wanted to compare it to my own. A glance through the ingredient list left no doubt that the pork would be flavorful. A glance at the directions raised a concern. I thought the specified roasting time would produce a dry roast. I was right on both counts. The roast is wonderfully flavorful. It's stuffed with a mixture of garlic and rosemary and basted with wine and olive oil as it cooks. The recipe calls for an hour and forty minutes of roasting. That's way too long for our taste. I pulled the roast from the oven when my meat thermometer read 140 degrees F. At that point the roast had been in the oven for a bit over 60 minutes. I tented it with foil and let it sit for another 15 minutes before slicing it. It was wonderful. There is one other change I'll make the next time I prepare this. The roast is cut, book fashion, almost in half to create a bed for the herb rub. In the future, I cut the roast into thirds to create a larger surface for the herbs. I used a dry French vermouth and a good olive oil for basting the roast. I served it with Parmesan mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. If you like well flavored foods, I urge you to give this recipe a try. It's easy to do and inexpensive in the great scheme of things. Manga!

Arista - Tuscan Pork Roast...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:

2-1/2 pounds boneless pork roast

3 whole cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

1 large branch fresh rosemary, about 1/2 cup

Kosher or sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Optional: sage, fennel seeds

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup white wine

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Remove rosemary leaves from branch an put on a cutting board. Top with garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper. If you are using sage and fennel seeds they should be added now. Chop finely.

3) With a sharp knife, cut pork in almost in half lengthwise. Rub inside of roast with herb mixture. Close and tie with string. Rub outside of roast with any remaining herbs.

4) Place in oven for 10 minutes. Baste with wine and olive oil. Lower heat to 375 degrees F. Cook for 1-1/2 hours, basting frequently. Tent with foil and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

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