Photo Credits: Laurel Costa
If pork roast is already a favorite of yours, you can think of this as an homage to pork roast! It is not at all difficult to do, and is really quite exciting to serve and eat.
You can do this with either a pork loin roast or a center cut pork loin.
Because I like to cook pork very slowly over a long period of time, I did this roast in steps in order not to overcook or scorch the stuffing.
1. Slice the roast with a sharp knife along the horizontal center without cutting all the way through. You are making a book out of your roast.
2. Sprinkle some seasoning on all sides of the butterflied roast, then close it and put it in a covered roasting pan at 320 degrees for at least an hour and a half. Some of my favorite seasonings to put on at the beginning of cooking are: turmeric. chili powder, salt, coriander, and cumin. You really can't go wrong at this point.
3. While the roast is cooking, chop, peel and saute the items for your stuffing. I used, chopped, dried figs, diced apples, and garlic in olive oil. Other great options are chopped prunes, dates, leeks, onion, and diced pear. You can look in your cupboard and use your imagination. Some people might want to add chopped nuts to this mixture, as well. When the saute mix was partially cooked, I added a littel soy sauce and some maple syrup.
4. Take the roast out of the oven and let it cool enough to handle safely. Open the "book" and layer in the stuffing. Gently close and wrap the roast with some cotton string. This will keep it from springing open, and also make the whole thing a little more moist.
5. Continue to slow roast the stuffed roast for another hour and a half or so. You can see that I added a some dill and thyme to the top of the roast, as well as some stuffing that wouldn't fit inside.
6. You will get a nice crispy crust on the top of the roast, so you will need a sharp knife to cut it so that you get beautiful slices.
Serve with roasted vegetables; the ones in the photo are butternut cubes in a butter, honey, balsamic glaze.
How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Annie Dillard
