Pork Loin with Plums

The pork loin with plums is a rich and flavorful dish that combines the sweetness of fruit with the succulence of meat. Here’s how to prepare it with an Italian touch.

Ingredients

• 1 pork loin (about 1-1.5 kg)
• 200 g of pitted dried plums
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. First, soak the dried plums in the red wine for at least 30 minutes, so they rehydrate slightly and absorb the flavors of the wine.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil and brown the pork loin on all sides until well browned. This will help seal the juices inside the meat.
4. Transfer the pork loin to a baking dish and season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar, adding the sliced onion, garlic cloves, rosemary, and bay leaf.
5. Pour the red wine, in which you soaked the plums, into the baking dish along with the plums themselves.
6. Bake for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the loin reads 70 °C.
7. During cooking, baste the loin with its cooking juices every 20-30 minutes to prevent it from drying out.
8. Once the desired doneness is reached, let the pork loin rest for about ten minutes before slicing.

Serve the sliced pork loin with the cooking juices and plums as a side. You can accompany it with a side of roasted potatoes or seasonal vegetables for a complete meal.

Trivia

The “arista” is a typical cut of meat used in Tuscany, and the term “arista” seems to derive from a linguistic error during the Council of Florence in 1439, when the Greek delegates named the dish “ariston,” which in Greek means “the best”.