Roasted Pork Loin with Fennel and Apple with Spinach, Strawberry, Honey Mustard Salad

Today the windows in the kitchen were being replaced, so I made sure to concoct a dish that would be unlikely to get any dust or debris in it because it would be contained during the construction. The workers made many comments about it smelling really good in the kitchen and I felt bad that I couldn't offer them any. On a positive note, the dish was pretty easy to make, I managed to get everything from my cooking cleaned up before I had to drop off the food, and there are new windows in the kitchen so it won't be freezing in there when it gets cold outside.

Because it was a bit chilly in the morning, I was feeling like something a little hearty as well as healthy. There were also some things that came from the garden that were screaming to get used, like fresh rosemary & thyme and some beautiful exotic blue potatoes & yams. Besides that, I had a few different types of greens that I wanted to use up before they went bad and a bunch of strawberries that were on their last legs and a pomegranate that needed to be eaten asap. Here's what I came up with.

Though the pork was delicious, I think that next time I will have to reduce the sauce to make a lovely gravy rather than leave drippings at the bottom of the pan to drizzle. Find out how to do that yourself in the optional side note. Also, carrots and celery might make a lovely addition to the roasted veggies, so gauge the veggie level to your group

Roasted Pork Loin with Fennel and Apple

Serves 12 

Ingredients: 

3-4 lbs pork loin (or 2 average size loins)

4 Tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper

3 fennel bulbs quartered with ends removed

1 large white onion quartered with ends removed

6-8 medium sized potatoes and yams cut into fork sized pieces

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 cloves of garlic, smashed to release scent and flavor

6 small apples, cored and quartered

2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 cup apple cider

2 Tbs grainy mustard 

Optional gravy:

1/2 cup white cooking wine

2 Tbs cornstarch

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Lightly coat the pork in freshly ground salt and pepper.

3. In a large cast iron skillet heat half the olive oil over high heat until it smell like olives, but not to smoking. 

4. Sear the pork loin in the skillet to seal in moisture. Be careful not to let the pork burn, just have a nice crust of brown on the 4 long sides. Use strong tongs to turn the meat, try not to pierce the meat.

5. Set aside the seared pork to let it rest. 

6. Add the remaining oil to the cast iron pan and saute the fennel, onion, potatoes/yams, rosemary, thyme, and garlic, stirring frequently until the veggies are browned and the whole kitchen smells good. 

7. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, apple cider, and mustard. 

8. In a large baking pan, place the apples and veggies at the bottom, then gently lay the pork on top, coat everything in apple mustard sauce. 

9. Cover the baking pan in tinfoil and bake until the internal temperature of the meat is 140 degrees F (about 30-45 minutes). 

10. Set aside the meat and tent with tinfoil. Return veggies to the oven until fennel and potatoes are soft enough to easily pierce with a fork. 

11. Slice the meat and serve over the veggies. 

Optional: To make gravy, transfer all but 2 Tbs of drippings from the bottom of the baking pan into a measuring cup so it is easy to pour later. Put the pan on the stove top over medium heat and deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup white wine (that means scrape off all the stuff from the bottom while cooking it in a liquid). Dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of water to make a thin paste. Whisk the cornstarch and the deglazed pan drippings together until the gravy has formed a thick roux, then slowly add 2 cups of pan drippings you had set aside and whisk until combined. If you don't have enough drippings, use veggie stock to make up the difference. At right is a video on how to do it with flour, which is more traditional, but if you need gluten free, then the thickening power of cornstarch is what you will substitute for flour. 

Spinach, Strawberry, Honey Mustard Salad

Serves 12

Ingredients: 

1 large box of baby spinach (or 2 bags of baby spinach)

1 bag of shredded kale

1 bag of shredded cabbage

1/2 carton of strawberries, sliced with tops removed

1 pomegranate, seeds carefully removed (or a couple of handfuls of already separated pomegranate seeds, less work but use what you have)

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 large cucumber diced

1 bottle of honey mustard dressing (I like Brianna's Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing because it's delicious and gluten free)

Preparation:

1. Combine the spinach, kale, and shredded cabbage by placing a handful of each into a medium size bowl with about a Tbs or two of dressing, mix thoroughly before transferring to serving bowl; repeat with all of the greens. 

2. On top of the greens layer the heavy items: pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, strawberry slices, and cucumber bits. 

3. Serve with extra dressing on the side so that people can put more on if they like.