I hope that each of you begin this year with a new and exciting outlook about cooking! For me, cooking is fun and challenging. So for my holiday dinner, I Prepared a Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Loin with Roasted Apples. I have stuffed pork chops and stuffed a chicken or two, but never a pork roast.
It was indeed a challenge to roll that 3 pound roast but I won! Along with the pork roast I served a Potato & Celery Root Gratin with Leeks, Spiced Glazed Carrots with Sherry and a Citrus With Red Onion and Escarole Salad.
The roast recipe is the last entry on this post because it is the most time consuming portion of the meal. But I hope you try it for your next special occasion.
I like to prep the day before and I was able to do this with all these recipes.
Thanks to Bon Appetit's October and November issues and The Williams-Sonoma Salad book for this delicious meal! Bon Appetit, Food and Wine and Gourmet magazines are my favorites. I would encourage you to get these for your cookbook collection.
Let me start with the Carrots. Easy to make and they were a big hit and even the 4 year old loved them!
SPICED GLAZED CARROTS WITH SHERRY & CITRUS
Ingredients:
2 bunches of thin carrots about 2 lb, cut into 1" pieces (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
12 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh clementine juice or orange juice (I used Clementines)
2 tablespoons Sherry or sweet vermouth, divided ( I used Sherry)
2 pinches ground cloves
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated clementine zest or orange zest
Preparation
Bring carrots, butter, 1/2 tsp. salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 7–8 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer carrots to a medium bowl.
Add clementine juice, 1 Tbsp. Sherry, and ground cloves to skillet and cook until glaze forms,
7–8 minutes. Stir in carrots and remaining 1 Tbsp. Sherry.
Season carrots to taste with salt.
DO AHEAD - Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat before continuing, adding water by teaspoonfuls if dry.Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with tarragon and Clementine zest.
POTATO & CELERY ROOT GRATIN WITH LEEKS
If you are watching your weight, this is not for you! It has heavy cream and Gruyere cheese. However, if you are wanting to throw caution to the wind, go ahead and make this. You will be glad you did!
Ingredients:
3 cups heavy cream
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 sprig thyme plus 3 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
Kosher Salt
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, very thinly sliced crosswise about 1/8" thick
1 pound celery root, peeled, very thinly sliced crosswise about 1/8" thick
2 cups grated Gruyère
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Preheat to 350°. Heat cream, garlic, and thyme sprig in a medium saucepan just until bubbles begin to form around edge of pan. Remove from heat; set aside to steep.
Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.
Add leeks; season with salt and cook, stirring often, until tender (do not brown), 10–12 minutes.
Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Butter a 3-qt. gratin dish with remaining 1 Tbsp butter. Layer 1/3 of potato slices and 1/3 of celery root slices evenly over bottom of baking dish.
Cover with 1/3 of leeks, then 1/3 of Gruyère. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp. thyme leaves.
Repeat layers twice more.
Strain cream mixture into a medium pitcher and pour over vegetables.
Set gratin dish on a large rimmed baking sheet and cover tightly with foil.
Bake for 1 hour. Carefully remove foil; continue baking until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling, 25–30 minutes.
DO AHEAD:Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Tent with foil and rewarm in a 300° oven until hot, about 20 minutes
MIXED CITRUS WITH RED ONIONS AND MIXED GREENS SALAD
The original recipe calls for Escarole, which is a slightly bitter green. I prefer other greens so I went to my local Central Market and got a mixture of various greens. It worked well.
Ingredients:
1/2 red onion
1 grapefruit
1 orange
2 mandarin oranges
1 oz Maytag or other blue cheese
1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups torn escarole or other greens. Again I used mixed greens
1/4 cup minced fresh chervil. If you are unable to find chervil, use parsley.
Preparation:
Cut the onion half into paper-thin slices, then cut each slice in half. Set aside.
Cut the grapefruit sections into a bowl letting the juices drop into the bowl. Cut each section in half crosswise. Repeat with the orange and mandarins placing them in the same bowl as with the grapefruit and set aside.
Put the cheese in the bottom of a large bowl and add the olive oil. Using a fork, mash the cheese into the oil until well blended. Stir in the vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the greens and gently mix to coat evenly. Add all the citrus and their juices, the red onion and the minced chervil and gently mix to coat evenly.
Sprinkle with the chervil sprigs and serve at once.
PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED PORK LOIN WITH ROASTED APPLES
This dish is not only delicious, but what a presentation it makes! This recipe will have you stepping outside the box and perhaps your comfort zone. But well worth the time. The recipe will serve eight.
Have the butcher butterfly the roast for you.
Ingredients
Filling
1 ounce, about a cup, dried whole porcini mushrooms
2 ounces or about 3/4 cup dried apples
1 pound kale, bottom stems trimmed. If you don't like or haven't eaten Kale, you will really like this. So step outside that box.
2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons brandy or Calvados. I used brandy.
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground pork
Pork:
1 nicely trimmed 2 1/2 to 3lb. pork loin
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for seasoning
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto. I purchased 6 ounces because prosciutto is so thin and tears so easily, that I wanted to be sure I had enough to wrap the roast.
5 sprigs rosemary
4 medium apples, such as Granny Smith or Fuji, quartered, or 8 small apples, halved. I used Fuji
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup dry hard cider. I found this at my local Whole Foods store
1/2 cup low-salt chicken stock
FILLING
Place dried mushrooms and dried apples in separate small bowls. Add 1 cup boiling water to each bowl. Let mushrooms and apples soak until very soft, about 30 minutes.
Strain mushrooms. Cover and chill soaking liquid (about 3/4 cup).
Drain apples, discarding soaking liquid.
Finely chop mushrooms and apples, combine in a small bowl, and set mushroom and apple mixture aside.
Meanwhile, blanch kale in boiling salted water just until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer kale to a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until cool. Remove any large, tough ribs.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
Add mushrooms and apples; cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, and rosemary; cook for 1 minute.
Add brandy and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Stir in 2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool completely. Add ground pork and stir to combine well.
PORK
Place pork roast on plastic wrap and lay flat. Place another piece of plastic on top and pound until roast has even thickness.
Remove plastic and season with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.
Place kale leaves on top of loin in an even layer, overlapping as needed and leaving a 1" border.
Spread filling on top of kale. Roll pork into a tight cylinder.
Wrap one layer of prosciutto around roast. Tie roast securely with kitchen twine in 1" intervals.
Tuck rosemary sprigs under twine, spacing apart.
DO AHEAD: Pork roast can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before continuing.
Preheat oven to 400°. Place apples in a roasting pan.
Melt 1 Tbsp. butter with oil in a large skillet. Brown pork on all sides, about 5 minutes total, then set on top of apples in pan.
Add cider and 1/2 cup water to skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits.
Pour mixture into roasting pan. Roast pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loin registers 140° (it will be cooked medium but still slightly pink), about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Let roast rest for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Put roast on a platter. Reserve apples from roasting pan; spoon off fat from juices in pan.
Place pan on top of stove over medium-high heat. Add chicken stock. Pour in reserved mushroom liquid, leaving any sediment behind, and cook, scraping bottom of pan to release any browned bits, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain sauce; slice pork. Serve sauce and apples alongside sliced pork.
I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did. Again my thanks to Bon Appetit and Williams-Sonoma for making me look like a formally trained Chef!
So until next time remember:
Never eat more then you can lift - Miss Piggy
