Spectacular autumn foliage,
colorful mums, pumpkins and apples are all symbols of fall to which we look
forward each year. Also reminiscent of
fall are the aromas of cinnamon, baking pies, simmering pots of chili and
seasoned roasts, all beckoning us in from the dropping temperatures and the
darkness that creeps in earlier with each passing day. Pumpkins are not the only objects getting carved this season. Hearty roasts are the staple of fall and
winter’s dinners.
Herb Roasted Chicken and Vegetables |
A large specimen of roasted
goodness can star chicken, pork, beef, lamb, duck, turkey and other meat or
fowl. For a timesaving bonus, many
roasts can be surrounded with vegetables and potatoes in the same pan, drinking
in the tasty juices from the meat as they roast. My herb
roasted chicken roasts along with fennel bulbs, baby carrots, baby red
potatoes and onions. The interior of the
chicken get seasoned with a full head of garlic cloves, which also roast, lemon
wedges and sprigs of the earthy herb that says autumn every time, sage. The exterior of the bird is seasoned with
olive oil, salt, pepper and minced rosemary, and the entire roasting pan’s
contents get basted with white wine and chicken stock. When it’s time to pop the roasting pan into
the oven, it is heavy! Packed with
flavor, that roasting pan serves up almost the entire meal. All one needs with that is a salad.
Herb and Orange Roasted Duck |
Most people opt out of the
roast turkey, knowing full well that it will be enjoyed later in the season on
the Thanksgiving holiday and for several days that follow. Chicken and duck are the preferred feathery
victims destined for the oven. Duck is
often brushed with fruity glazes, such as orange or cherry. The fatty drippings from the duck perform
blissful magic when potatoes are roasted in the pan with the duck. For those who need dinner on the table
quicker, try opting for my roast
duck breasts with fennel. Seasoned
with rosemary and served over mashed potatoes, this dish makes an elegant
presentation when plated. For the
freshest duck and chicken, Long Islanders can find them at Miloski’s Poultry
Farm in Calverton and at Iacono Farm on the south fork in East Hampton.
Pork Loin Stuffed with Fennel |
Pork is perhaps the most
popular choice of meats for roasting, followed by leg of lamb. Two pork tenderloin recipes that I have
previously posted include pork
tenderloin with apples and fennel and pork
tenderloin with ancho espresso rub and guacamole. When visiting my parents, I was treated to a
succulent, golden-brown roast pork loin that my mother stuffed with olives,
parsley, garlic and anchovies. The
kitchen smelled wonderful. The dish was
so amazing that I simply had to have the recipe. Luckily, Mom shares. I proceeded to make the dish back at home in
my kitchen. The flavor wasn’t what I
remembered, however. It was too
salty! When my mother queried whether I
had prepared the roast, I shamefully admitted that I had and that it was not as
good as hers. When I voiced my specific
complaint, she shared with me the reason for the saltiness. I would hedge my bets that my readers are by
now issuing shouting admonishments at the screen that go something like, ‘It
was the anchovies, you idiot!’ Wrong. I
had rinsed the anchovies, as her recipe directed. What her recipe had not specified was the
type of olive used. I recalled the
stuffing in her pork displaying a blackish-brown tint. I deduced that they were probably kalamatas. On that point, yes, I was wrong.
As it turns out, my mother
had used canned black olives. What?! I
exclaimed, canned? I buy canned beans,
canned tomatoes, canned chipotle and green chilies, but never canned
olives. It made sense, however, that
those water-packed canned olives which lack the saltiness that comes with that
brining or curing that most olive bar examples display are not going to infuse
that saltiness into the roast.
So, I cooked the roast once
again, using the canned variation of olives this time. It was a vast improvement. This time, the roast tasted just like Mom’s. What I also love about this roast is the fact
that it retains its moisture. The roast
does not cook in a pan filled with potatoes or vegetables, but I put together a
side dish in ten minutes that paired exceptionally well with the pork. In addition, I prepared a typical fall salad
of greens, apple, dried cranberries, walnuts and goat cheese, uncorked a pinot
noir and dinner was sublime.
I will now share two
recipes. First up is the one for my
mother’s roast pork, and then I have included the one for my side dish that I
accompanied the roast with.
Roast
Pork Stuffed with Olives
Ingredients:
3-4 pound boned pork loin
1 cup fresh parsley
8 garlic cloves
1 15-ounce can black
olives
8 anchovy filets, rinsed
½ cup (plus more) white
wine
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black
pepper
Preheat oven to
450-degrees.
Cover work surface with
aluminum foil. Place four 2-foot lengths
of kitchen string horizontally on the foil, each string 1-2 inches apart. Lay the pork loin down vertically on top of
the strings. Butterfly the loin by
taking a sharp knife and cutting across from the right side of the loin to the
left, one third of the way down. Cut
almost all the way across to the left, but do not cut all the way through. Gently fold that cut piece over toward the
left. Next, halfway down from the
remaining thickness, cut from left to right in the same manner and fold that
section over toward the right. When you
have completed this process, the piece of meat should resemble an unfolded
letter. Sprinkle the entire surface of
the loin with salt and pepper.
Process the parsley and
garlic together in a food processor until it is chopped and combined. Spread this mixture over the surface of the
pork loin. Process the olives in the processor
until chopped, and then spread the chopped olives over the parsley
mixture. Lay the anchovy filets, evenly
spaced over the olive mixture. Roll the
loin (like refolding the letter). Grasp
the first string from each side and firmly tie it around the loin to secure the
roll. Repeat with the remaining strings
and then snip off the excess ends of the string. Lightly sprinkle the roast with salt and
transfer to a roasting pan. At this
point, the finished package should resemble the picture at the right.
Pour ½ cup wine over the
roast and place the pan into the oven for ten minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325-degrees and
roast for another 60-75 minutes, basting frequently with the wine and
drippings, adding more wine to the pan if necessary.
Transfer the roast to a
carving board and allow the meat to rest for ten minutes. Snip the string and slice the roast into 1/3-inch
thick slices. Drizzle the pan drippings
over the slices and serve.
Cannellini
Beans with Garlic, Sage and Grape Tomatoes
Ingredients:
2 15-ounce cans cannellini
beans, drained and rinsed
4 tablespoons extra virgin
olive oil
6 large cloves garlic,
minced
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons dried rubbed
sage or 1 ½ tablespoons finely minced fresh sage
1 pint grape tomatoes,
halved
Heat the oil in a saucepan
over medium heat. Add the garlic and
sauté for two minutes. Remove from heat
and stir in the salt and sage. Add the
beans and toss to the coat with the garlic mixture. Stir in the tomatoes until incorporated with
the beans. Transfer to a serving
dish. Serves four.
This
bean dish would also be ideal with a Provencal roasted leg of lamb.
Polenta
would be another perfect alternative to serve with the pork roast.
Enjoy
those cool weather roasts whose aromas spark appetites and let the oven warm up
your kitchen. If you happen to be a
vegetarian, well, I’m sure you won’t have too much difficulty achieving the
same heartwarming and mouthwatering affects from an autumn pie or crisp in the
oven.
Thanksgiving is just weeks away, when we all look forward with anticipation to a Normal Rockwell-worthy presentation of the roasted turkey with all the trimmings. |