It is five PM. The December evening falls over Amsterdam. The Sun sets and leaves it’s final gloom over the city. On my stove thick Dutch pea soup simmers. It is December under the low and grey skies of Holland. I alway like to make hearty dishes like this pea soup and roasts and stews in my oven or in my Le Creuset casserole. Immediately your home smells welcoming. Winter stays outside. Instant nourishment of all your senses. But I have to be patient, winter asks for traditional slow food. With a good glas of warming red wine. Like the roast of Edward Mayes. A porkloin filled with herbs, wine, grated Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Roasted in the oven and then thinly sliced on your plate. Instant Tuscan Sun at your table. Just a little touch of warmth on a winters night.
The recipe for this wonderful roast comes from The Tuscan Sun Cookbook (ISBN 978-0-307-88528-9) So if you crave for more Tuscan delicacies by Frances and Edward Mayes, this wonderful cookbook is available at Scheltema on the Koningsplein.
Ingredients:
1 boneless porkloin, about 3 lbs/1,3 kg
1 onion, minced
1 cup/ 60 g of fresh bread crumbs, crisped in 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup/ 60 g of grated Parmesan cheese.
7 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup/ 60 ml of red wine
a handful of torned basil leaves
a handful of flat leaf parsley, minced
2 tbs of fresh thyme
3 tbs minced rosemary leaves
3 tbs of fennel seeds
3 garlic cloves minces
zest of 1 lemon
1 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper
Preparation:
With a sharp knife cut a pocket in the porkloin so you can stuff the meat. Preheat the oven at 350° Fahrenheit or 180° Celsius.
When you are ready to cook the meat, combine in a medium bowl the onion, the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, 5 tablespoons of oil, the wine, the herbs, fennel seeds, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Stuff half of the mixture in the pocket you have sliced and tie the loin with kitchen twine in four or five places. Over medium heat, in a heavy 8-quart Dutch oven of le Creuset casserole, heat the rest of the oil and sauté the pork for 4 minutes on each side. Until browned. Top the meat with the rest of the stuffing mixture. Roast in the oven for 55 to 65 minutes. The internal temperature should be 150° F or 66° C and the stuffing on top should be crispy brown. When the meat is done, allow the roast to rest for 15 minutes before carving.