Pork Roast with Apples

The pork roast with apples is a hearty and flavorful dish, excellent especially in colder periods when the body requires more caloric and comforting meals. Here’s how to prepare this delicious dish.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of pork loin
• 4 apples (preferably tart varieties, like Granny Smith)
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 200 ml of white wine
• Meat or vegetable broth (enough to moisten the roast during cooking)
• Optional: juniper berries, cinnamon or cloves for additional flavoring

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
2. Wash the apples, remove the core and cut them into quarters or eighths, depending on the size.
3. Season the pork loin with salt and pepper on all sides. In a large frying pan that can later go in the oven, heat a drizzle of oil and brown the meat on all sides until well browned.
4. Add the apples around the meat, along with the garlic (which you can crush with the blade of a knife), rosemary, bay leaves, and any additional spices you prefer.
5. Deglaze with the white wine and let it evaporate for a couple of minutes.
6. Transfer the pan to the oven; if the pan is not suitable for the oven, transfer the meat, apples, and sauce to a suitable baking dish and continue cooking for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, moistening the roast with the broth as it dries out.
7. During cooking, turn the meat a few times and make sure the apples don’t get too dark (if necessary, cover them with aluminum foil).
8. When the meat is cooked (a cooking thermometer should register 70 °C in the center), take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Serve the pork roast in slices, accompanied by the roasted apples and the cooking juices. It is delicious when paired with a side of roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes.

Curiosity

The addition of apples in the pork roast recipe is not only to provide a pleasant sweet and sour note but also follows a culinary tradition that pairs pork with fruit. This combination is found in various regional cuisines of Italy.