Pork Loin with Sage & Applesauce

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When I was a young woman, I couldn’t really afford to buy cookery books.  With a growing family to care for and being a stay at home mom, cookery books were not in my budget.   I used to handwrite out recipes gleaned from library books and friends and magazines into notebooks.  This is one of those recipes and I can no longer remember if it came from a book, magazine or a friend, or if it was an exeriment of my own that worked out well.  I tend to think that it is the latter due to the simplicity of it.   Simple recipes are often the best ones don’t you think?

This is a simple and delicious way to cook a boneless loin of pork.  You get succulent tender meat with a beautifully flavoured breadcrumb crust   . . .  and of course a delicious applesauce to serve with it.

We never had hot roast pork when I was growing up.  My father only liked his pork cold and so my mother would always cook it the day before and we would have it cold, sliced into thin slices and served with mustard.

It was okay but not my favourite.  I remember being quite surprised at the deliciousness of hot pork the first time I had it freshly roasted!  Boy, it was good!  I fell in love.

I had it at my friend Leona’s house.  It was a Pork Butt roast, slow cooked in the oven with lots of vegetables and a delicious gravy.  It was so tender and yes, succulently filled with flavour. 

Of course the fattier cuts are a lot tenderer and filled with more flavour . . .  but the loin can also be very delicious if cooked properly.  Because it is such a lean cut of meat you don’t want to overcook it as it will very quickly dry out and be tough.

The timings here are just perfect for a 5 pound piece of pork loin.  Boneless and with only a thin covering of fat.  The rind is removed so there is no crackling, but that is perfectly okay.  That tasty breadcrumb crust more than makes up for its lack and is a lot healthier as well!   The tart applesauce goes perfectly with the sage and the pork to make for a beautiful combination!

10g of choped fresh parsley (1/4 cup)

 Remove any string from the roast and trim off any fat to a thin layer.   Retie.  Place bottom side down on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.  combine the sage and oil.  Rub this all over the roast.  Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.  Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.  Roast the pork for one hour.  Remove from the oven.  Combine the bread crumbs and parsley.  Press this mixture onto the fat side of the roast.  Return to the oven and roast for a further hour to 1 1/4 hours, until the crumbs are crisp and golden and the pork registers a temperature of 71*C/160*F to 76*C/170*F.  Remove from the oven and leet stand, covered loosely with foil for about 15 minutes before carving. 

Make the applesauce while the pork is roasting. Place the apples and water into a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook, stirring often until the apples become tender and begin to break down, about 5 to 6 minutes.  Add sugar to taste and the lemon juice.  Stir to blend well.  Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and mash with a fork.  Set aside. 

Serve the pork hot and thinly sliced with the applesauce on the side.  I like to serve cheesy mash and green beans with this.