Monday, January 10, 2011

Pork Loin with Pearl Onions and Apricots

This recipe is from the January/February 2011 (Issue 79) of Everyday Food by Martha Stewart. I tried to find a link to it on the site but I don't think they've put this issue on the net yet and when I searched it all I found were other people's blogs who have also discussed this recipe. My plan was originally to link the original recipe and just list mine (with my additions and subtractions) but since there is no link available I'll list everything and note the changes as I go.

One thing I did notice about this recipe, for me at least, it took more than an hour to prepare. Not much, but definitely a little more. I did use a larger piece of pork loin so my cooking time was a little longer and peeling 1/2 lb of pearl onions is tedious! I soaked the onions in water for 10 min like the note said to in the book but the skin becomes so thin it's hard to tell if you got it all or not! If you're impatient or short for time I'd definitely use larger cipollini onions or small yellow onions chopped into wedges.

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork loin (I had 2.21lbs)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
coarse S&P (I always use a sea salt grinder)
1/2 lb pearl or cipollini onions, peeled
1/3 cup dry white wine (I used Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc and used 2/3 c since I had a larger piece of meat)
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth (I used 1 cup)
1/2 tsp fennel seed (I did NOT use this ingredient)
1 wide strip of orange zest (after I zested the orange I cut it up in wedges for a snack at work tomorrow!)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots (8-10 apricots)
1 tsp red wine vinegar
**ADDED ingredient: 1 green apple, chopped**


I also made a salad, jasmine rice, and a large baked sweet potato to go with this meal


Salad ingredients: 

2 heads of romaine
a handful each of shredded carrots and red cabbage
4 campari tomatoes
1/2 a regular sized cucumber
chopped baby bella mushrooms
S&P

1. Preheat oven to 350. IN a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over med-high heat. Pat pork dry with paper towels, sprinkle with coriander and season with S&P. Cook until browned on all sides, about 10 min. Transfer pork to a plate. Reduce heat to medium and add onions to pot. Cook, stirring until onions are golden brown, about 3 min.


2. Return pork to post and add wine, broth, zest, apricots and apple. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover and transfer to oven. Cook until meat thermometer reads 140 (25-30 min). I cooked mine for 40 min since it was larger and it was perfect. 


3. Transfer pork to a plate, tent loosely with foil and let rest 10 min. On stove top, bring cooking liquid to a boil over med-high heat until slightly thickened, about 3 min. Stir in vinegar, thinly slice pork and serve with onions, apricots and sauce. 




The sweet potato was baked for a little over an hour and I sliced it in 4 sections to make 4 servings and sprinkled it with a little cinnamon. 
This recipe was delicious! The meat turned out really tender and I'll definitely make this one again.  Enjoy!






2 comments:

  1. YUM! And boyfriend is right, you really do make the presentation look super-nice. I don't like pearl onions, but I'd probably eat them in this dish, because you cooked them down so much, they're probably not too crunchy. YUM!

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  2. The pearl onions cook down a LOT. They are almost like a grape consistency after cooking for an hour and they are sweet because of the chicken broth, wine, apricots and apple.

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