Roast Pork with Spiced Red Wine

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. loin of pork with skin and bone*
• 2 medium-size onions, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp. fennel seeds, roughly crushed
• 1 cup Latah Creek Sangiovese
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 tsp. quince or apple jelly

*Ask your butcher to chine the loin of pork, scoring the skin well and leaving the bone. Don’t tie or roll the loin up with string.

Directions

Place meat in a glass dish. Combine the onions, garlic, bay leaf, crushed fennel seeds and black pepper with wine to make a marinade. Pour over meat and marinate for at least 2 hours. Remove meat, reserving marinade and strain. Sit the loin upright, resting on the bones, in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle the skin generously with salt to give it a thick coating, then cook for 20 minutes in the oven at 475 F. Lower the heat to 375 F and continue roasting for 1 hour and 10 minutes. (To make sure the meat is cooked, test with a skewer — the juices should run clear, not pink.) Place pork on a serving dish and leave to rest in a warm place, while you make the gravy. To make gravy, remove most of the fat from the roasting pan. Stir flour into pan juices and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the strained marinade and continue to stir over medium heat until smooth. Add the stock and allow to bubble for about 8 to 15 minutes or until rich and glossy. Stir in about 2 teaspoons of quince or apple jelly and adjust the seasonings as necessary. To serve, carve the meat into thick slices, and pour red-wine sauce over meat.

Ellena's Notes

The winter season finds us entertaining more than usual and this Roast Pork dish is stunning to serve. I often serve “Hot Spiced Sangiovese” as people walk through the door on a cold wintry night and have found it especially delicious when used in this marinade recipe.

Find more delicious recipes in my cookbook, Recipes by Ellena.

Eat Simple, Eat Well.

Ellena