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Roasted Pork Loin and Potatoes with Green Vegetables and Enriched Gravy (Roti de Porc aux Herbes)
This is a slight twist to the classic
Sunday roast. The gravy is full of flavours
These quantities are for about 4 people, so half, double or whatever depending on the number of people you are cooking for.
Roast Extra virgin olive oil 1Kg Pork loin with skin or pre-rolled roasting pork (preferably with skin) Zest of 1 lemon Salt & pepper 5 fresh thyme branches 1 leaf of fresh sage 5 fresh oregano branches 1 peeled garlic clove Fist sized bunch of parsley leaves Extra virgin olive oil Coarse rock salt 6 large potatoes 1 complete garlic bulb 1 shallot 5 more thyme branches
Vegetables 12 flowers of broccoli or French green beans, or runner beans, or any green vegetable that is in season. Water 1 good pinch of salt Butter Pepper
Gravy 200ml White wine A good handful of mixed vegetables (e.g. Half a carrot, 1 small stick of celery, 1 courgette, Half a leek) 300ml chicken stock salt & pepper to taste Butter
Meat & Potatoes 1 hour 10 minutes before serving - Preheat the oven on high at 225°C. If you are lucky enough to find a loin of pork with skin, then cut a slit in the side of the flesh (but not all the way through) and open out like a book. If you have a pre-rolled pork roast, then cut the string and open out the meat as best you can (ensure that the meat stays in one piece and is as even in thickness as possible).
Turn the meat flesh-side down. Score the skin in a criss-cross fashion.
Turn the meat skin-side down.
Sprinkle lemon zest over the flesh and shake
Roll the meat up and tie it with kitchen string. in about 4 places. Rub coarse salt into the skin, drizzle some olive oil over it, then sprinkle again with salt.
Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes on high, then a further 30 minutes for each 500g of meat on a medium heat (180°C).
Vegetables 15 Minutes before serving - Place the broccoli flowers or whichever green vegetable you have chosen, in a little salted boiling water for about 10 to 12 minutes, so they still have a slightly crunchy texture. Melt a large knob of butter and a little pepper into the greens before serving.
Sauce 10 Minutes before serving - Remove the meat and potatoes from the oven and place the potatoes in a warm place (the cooling oven is OK so long as it is not so hot that it continues to cook). Allow the meat to rest for at least 5 minutes.
Place the roasting tray on the heat and add in the mixed vegetables. Fry up and slightly caramelize & soften the vegetables. Add in a glass of white wine and boil up the vegetables until soft. Scrape the bottom of the pan and press the juice from the garlic as the wine boils, so that a rich dark sauce begins to form. Whilst still fluid, strain the mixture through a sieve, pressing as much juice out of the garlic and vegetables as possible.
The juice can now be reduced further, until it is a very rich dark sauce. Add the chicken stock to the sauce and reduce on a high heat once more. Boil until the acidity of the wine has almost gone and the gravy is rich and dark. Melt in a small knob of butter at the end of cooking. Taste and re-season if required.
Serving - Remove the string from the meat and gently cut away the crackling (crunchy skin). Carve the pork in very thick slices. Lay out the meat and vegetables as you wish on the plate, or alternatively, serve all ingredients in serving dishes at the table. The sauce can be served in a gravy boat or spooned over the meat on a plate.
Alternatives - Any fresh green vegetable can be used (fresh flat runner beans are pictured). Click here to see some more advanced ways of making the roasted potatoes.
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and the meat has herbs
embedded into it, creating a wonderful explosion of tastes often missing from a
normal roast meal. 
a little salt & pepper over it.
Scrape the thyme flowers off the branches and sprinkle over the flesh. Do the
same with the oregano. Very finely chop the sage leaf and sprinkle over
(sage can be very bitter if too much is used, so be sparing with it). VERY
thinly slice the garlic clove and chop the parsley. Evenly distribute the
garlic over the flesh and liberally sprinkle the parsley on top. Drizzle a
little olive oil over the herbs.
Place the meat in a roasting tin.
Peel the potatoes and cut (if required) to be
about 5cm by 5cm then coat in
olive oil before placing alongside the pork in the roasting tray. Lay some
thyme branches and a cracked garlic bulb around the meat along with a halved
shallot.