Rewind: Christmas Dinner, Main Course!

I realized that the last post would have been way too long if I also explained the main course so it gets its own post. That's how awesome this roast is!

I've only made one other roast besides this one ever, so the complexity and length of the recipe shouldn't scare you! I started it the day before to save me some time and headache, and the actual cooking on Christmas Day was really easy. The one thing that I wish the recipe had told me was: make sure you have a helper! Turning a stuffed roast to wrap with prosciutto and tie is basically impossible to do with two hands. Luckily I have a helpful and handy Dad.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Loin With Roasted Apples

Barely adapted from Bon Apetit

For the Filling:

• -1 ounce (1 cup) dried whole porcini mushrooms (whole foods has them)
• -3/4 cup fresh apples, chopped
• -1 pound kale, bottom stems trimmed
• -salt and pepper to taste
• -2 T unsalted butter
• -1 cup minced onion
• -1 T finely minced garlic
• -1 1/2 t dried thyme or a few small stocks of fresh thyme, chopped
• -1 medium sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
• -2 T Calvados (or 1 1/2 T brandy+1/2 T hard cider)
• -1 pound ground pork

For the Pork:

-1 (trimmed) 2-2 1/2 lb. pork loin, butterflied (get your butcher to do this for you!)

• -salt and pepper to taste
• -3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• -5 sprigs rosemary
• -4 medium apples (such as Granny Smith or Fuji), quartered, or 8 small apples, halved. I used 5 smaller apples I think.
• -3 T unsalted butter, divided
• -2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• -1 cup dry hard cider
• -1/2 cup low-salt chicken stock

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To Make the Filling:

1. Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water. Let mushrooms soak until very soft, about 30 minutes. Strain mushrooms. Cover and chill soaking liquid (about 3/4 cup). Finely chop mushrooms and set aside.

• 2. Blanch kale in boiling water just until wilted, about 1 minute. Using tongs, transfer kale to a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until cool. Remove any large, tough ribs. I used two baking sheets to spread them out in a thinner layer.
  
  
• 3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden. Add apples and cook until they begin to soften. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, and rosemary; cook for 1 minute. Add brandy/cider and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool completely.
  
  
  4. Add ground pork and stir to combine well. *Note: make sure previous mixture is completely cool. In my case, I made everything up to the point where I added the ground pork, but it in the fridge, and went to Christmas Eve dinner. When I got home, I added the ground pork and returned to the fridge over night.
  
  

To Make the Pork:

1. Unroll the meat, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap, and, using a meat mallet, pound to an even thickness.

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  2. Uncover pork and season with salt and pepper. Place kale leaves on top of loin in an even layer, overlapping as needed and leaving a 1" border. I felt like I had a bit more kale than I should have but it worked out perfectly in the end. Spread filling on top of kale.
  
  
  3. (Get someone to help here) 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.
  
  
  *Note: I did this first thing in the morning, and put it back in the fridge until I was an hour away from cooking it.
  
  
  4. Preheat oven to 400°. Cut the apples and put them in a roasting pan.
  
  
  
  
  
  5. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter with oil in a large skillet and brown pork on all sides, about 5 minutes total. You aren't cooking the pork, just browning the prosciutto to give it more flavor.
  
  
  
  
  
  6. Put the pork on top of the 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.
  
  
  
  
  
  7. 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.
  
  
  8. Put roast on a platter or cutting board and put apples from roasting pan in another bowl. Spoon off the fat from the juices in pan and discard. Pour off the rest of the liquid and scrape any bits stuck to the bottom into a pan on the stove over medium-high heat and add the chicken stock. Pour in the reserved mushroom liquid, leaving any sediment behind. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain sauce.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  9. Serve pork with apples and gravy.
  
  
  
  
  
  I also served mine with the roasted red onions, a simple spinach salad with pickled red onions, root veggie anna (thinly slice potaotes, celery root, and turnip, layer in a cake pan with butter and rosemary and cook at 400 for about an hour), and cresent rolls (my brother and I are addicted).