Herbaceous Roast Pork Loin

Pork seasoning prep

1. In a mortar and pestle, grind together fennel seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, 2 cloves garlic, chili flakes and salt. Grind as finely as possible, until it forms a paste. Then add in the olive oil and combine thoroughly. Set this seasoning paste aside.

Pork prep

1. Trim the excess fat and silver skin from your tenderloin.
2. Butterfly open the tenderloin:
   • Make a cut lengthwise down one flat side of the loin – making sure to leave 1 inch to 1 ½ inch uncut towards the end of your cut to keep the two halves together. It helps to think of this like opening a book.
   • Open the two halves fully and, starting at the top of the tenderloin, begin cutting from the center of the fold through to the left side. Stop cutting when there is still a ½ inch left to keep the cut pieces together. At this stage of the butterflying process, you should now have 3 ‘folds’.
   •  Repeat this same cutting technique from the center of the loin to the right side, again, leaving another ½ inch uncut to keep the loin together.
   • Open up the piece and you should now have 4 ‘folds’/a rectangular sheet of pork with even thickness throughout.
   • Note: if you accidentally cut through any portion, don’t worry! The bacon wrap in the next step will help cover it.
3. Take your spice mixture and spread it on the inside of the tenderloin evenly.
4. Move the tenderloin to the side, clearing the cutting board.
5. Take your strips of bacon and lay them vertically on your cutting board, overlapping each piece by an ⅛ inch or so. Place the tenderloin on top of the bacon strips, and begin to roll up the bacon around the tenderloin, shaping it into a log.
6. Using butcher’s twine, tie up the bacon-wrapped tenderloin tightly, encircling the tenderloin many times until secure and tying a double knot. Cut off any excess twine.

Potato prep

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Give your potatoes a good scrub, leave the skins on, and halve your potatoes – or cut the larger ones a few times, ensuring the pisces are around 1 ½ – 2 inch thick. Toss the potatoes in a bowl with salt, pepper, olive oil, and rosemary leaves (picked off the stem).
3. Spread the potatoes out on the baking sheet, and set aside while you prepare the bacon-wrapped tenderloin.

Cooking the tenderloin

1. Cover a large pan (big enough to fit your tenderloin) with oil and place on medium high to high heat. Once hot, sear the bacon on the tenderloin by placing it in the pan for 2-3 minutes per side or until the entire log is golden brown.
2. Remove your seared bacon-wrapped tenderloin from the pan and place this on top of the potatoes.
3. Place the tray in the oven.
4. Save the bacon fat for use later.
5. Roast until the tenderloin has an internal temperature of 165F, at least 15-20 minutes.
6. Once ready, take the tenderloin out of the oven and let it rest on a tray for 15 minutes, leaving the potatoes to finish in the oven for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Rapini prep

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add a large handful of salt to the boiling water.
2. While you wait for it to boil, fill a large bowl with water and ice, creating an ice bath.
3. Once the water is boiling, stir the rapini in and blanch it for one minute. Remove the rapini after one minute and place it into the ice bath to stop it from cooking.
4. Once cooled, pat the rapini dry with a kitchen towel.
5. Mince the two remaining garlic cloves, and set aside.
6. Take the pan that the bacon-tenderloin was seared in, drain off all the excess bacon fat, and place the pan on high heat. Add in the rapini and sautée for 2-3 minutes.
7. Add in the garlic and chili flakes, and sautée for another minute. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the rapini and season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook until the lemon juice has evaporated, and the rapini is tender.

OPTION FOR A QUICK PAN SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Apothic Cab
• 2 oz stock (vegetable, or chicken)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Once the rapini has been prepared, remove the rapini from the pan and set aside.
2. Keep the pan on high heat and add 2oz of Apothic Cab and 2oz of stock.
3. Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and some salt and pepper. Mix everything together while actively scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove the fond (the caramelized bits left in the bottom of a pan after you’ve browned meat or vegetables). You can optionally add garlic or any of the spices used at the start of this recipe to the sauce as well.
4. Once the fond has been scraped off and all the ingredients have been combined fully, remove the pan from the heat and stir in two tablespoons of butter. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.