Today the Light and Tasty team asked us for a slow-cooking recipe, one of those recipes prepared for special occasions or Sunday lunch. And guys… unbelievable, I have it!!! 😃 Here is a pork roast with red wine that is finger-licking good!
Let me explain:
This recipe, before being selected as the Monday recipe for #lightandtasty, was actually a leftover recipe (haha, only when there’s a leftover involved do I try out holiday recipes! 😄).
It was from half a bottle of wine (a Barbaresco reserve from my brother, a wine connoisseur and sommelier, and our official wine supplier for our Christmas lunches), which was left over on Christmas Day. And as he suggested, already destined for a risotto, a classic wine recycling method at my house – see, for example, last year’s prosecco risotto – this time in a red wine risotto variant.
But it so happened that in those post-Christmas days, a pork loin bought with good intentions pre-Christmas ‘grew’ in my fridge but was not cooked in the Christmas chaos.
Yeah, I told you also here… lots of recycling this year, oh yes.
Opened the fridge and after thinking “oh right, there’s this meat to cook!”, I decided on the pork loin + red wine combo. First because in terms of ‘what perishes first between meat and rice’ it’s better to cook the meat first, as the rice can wait, and also because a red wine risotto recipe is already on the blog, but not yet a pork roast with red wine.
Pork loin is an economical cut but it performs very well, even when cooked simply. Imagine it cooked like this, with uncle’s red wine. 😊 This loin couldn’t have expected to end up cooked better, mark my words!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 1 pork loin (about 1.5 lbs)
- 1.5 cups red wine (I used a Barbaresco)
- Half onion (small)
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp butter
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup water
- to taste parsley
Tools
- Cutting Board bamboo
- Casserole stainless steel, 9.5 inches
- Kitchen Twine
- Knife for roasts
- Oval Plate serving
Steps
First, tie the pork loin with kitchen twine.
No need for a professional tie, just a few turns.
Chop the onion coarsely and sauté for a few minutes in a tiny amount of oil + butter (as little as you can see in the photo), then brown the meat on all sides.
Add pepper (optional).
To support the meat on the short sides, use tongs or two spoons (do not use a fork to avoid piercing the meat).
When the meat is well browned, pour in the wine.
I poured it directly from the bottle, as usual, I eyeballed it. In the ingredient list, I indicated 300 ml as I think that was roughly the amount, but if you use more, nothing happens, you might just have more sauce at the bottom.
Cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes over low heat.
Check the cooking occasionally, turn the meat using tongs, and replace the lid. If necessary, add a few tablespoons of wine (or water).
At the end of cooking, it looks like this, a nice brown color and with a cooking base that will soon become a nice sauce (even though it happened that… I forgot to photograph this step).
But I’ll explain it in words, as it’s super-easy.
To thicken the cooking base and get a sauce to drizzle over the sliced roast, proceed as follows:
Remove the meat from the cooking pan, place it on a cutting board, and slice it (I sliced it when warm).
Turn on the stove and pour half a cup of water and a tablespoon of sifted flour into the cooking base (but you can double the quantities if you want a more abundant sauce).
Also add a few parsley leaves.
Stir with a spoon until the base starts to thicken.
Arrange the slices of roast on a serving dish and drizzle with the sauce.
Or put the slices of roast back into the pan, soaking them in the sauce. The aesthetic is different, but the taste is the same.
Especially in this second case, I recommend serving the pork roast with red wine hot. But for us, it’s also great as a cold dish or as a sandwich filling (the sandwich with meat always has its charm 😋😉).
Carla: Cioncia pesciatina
Daniela: Turkey stew with apricots, honey, and almonds
Elena: Coda alla vaccinara
Franca: Chitarra spaghetti with wild boar sauce
Milena: Beef cheek with beer
Serena: Cuttlefish and peas
Salt-Free Tips
If you don’t know yet, this is a blog of recipes without added salt because I cook without salt (for over two decades now).
Have you ever tried to reduce even just a little bit of salt while cooking?
If the answer is no, you can take a first step by reading these simple tips. 🙂 If the answer is yes, continue following these simple tips! 😃
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
● Gradually decrease the salt, your palate must get used to it slowly and not notice the progressive reduction.
● Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
● Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
● Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
● Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
● Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
● Prefer fresh foods.
● Avoid cooking in water, prefer methods that preserve flavors (grill, en papillote, steam, microwave)
● Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
● Sometimes allow yourself an exception to the rule. It boosts the mood and helps perseverance.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, give up salt:
● You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
● Gradually decrease the salt, your palate must get used to it slowly and not notice the progressive reduction.
● Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
● Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
● Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
● Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
● Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
● Prefer fresh foods.
● Avoid cooking in water, prefer methods that preserve flavors (grill, en papillote, steam, microwave)
● Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
● Sometimes allow yourself an exception to the rule. It boosts the mood and helps perseverance.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, give up salt:
● You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
I also invite you to join my group Catia’s Group, in the Kitchen and Beyond where I have created a dedicated section for low-sodium cooking. 🙂
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