Rooftop Gourmet

Christmas Season at my house starts the moment Thanksgiving ends. My wife is like a little elf, running around turning our tiny, 900 square foot condo into the North Pole. Garland, Poinsettia plants, ornaments, nutcrackers, cinnamon scented pine cones, and stockings are just a few of the decorations that transform my kitchen into Santa’s Workshop. When I get the holiday spirit flowing through my body (which it’s hard not too at home), I start thinking about meals that remind me of this time of year. A roast is something that I associate with Christmas-time because of all the warming aromas that come from the oven throughout the entire process, and they’re usually big enough to feed an entire family or large group of friends.

Not too long ago, I was leaving my friends Bachelor party in New Orleans and through my mid-hangover beer goggles, I glanced at the cover of an issue of Bon Appetit magazine while stumbling through the airport.

Anytime a crispy pork product crosses my path, I tend to pay more attention. On the cover was a massive roast, wrapped in Prosciutto surrounded by beautifully caramelized apples and fresh herbs. It should be illegal to sell magazines like this at airport terminals because there’s no food like it during my lay-over in Columbus, Ohio.

I was in a rush to catch my connecting flight so I couldn’t buy the magazine, but that photo has haunted me ever since.

The other night, I set out to recreate that beautiful image that I have dreamt about ever since. I don’t know what the actual recipe is because I never got a chance to turn the page but in this instance, beauty is only skin deep (or prosciutto deep).

I put my own spin on the cover story, Prosciutto wrapped Pork Loin with Roasted Apples with an audience of colorful, wooden soldiers cheering me on. I started by butterfly-ing my pork loin, which is essentially opening it up and turning it into a pork placemat which makes it easier to stuff.

I sautéed some baby kale and walnuts, lightly seasoned with lemon zest, salt and pepper and used this mixture as my stuffing.

I rolled the pork back up into a familiar cylinder and then wrapped the entire thing, in an even layer of salty Prosciutto di Parma. The only thing better than pork-on-pork is pork-on-pork-on-pork; but I didn’t go there.

Once you have a nice, snug and delicious package that resembles a pigskin, tie it up with butchers twine and slip some fresh rosemary in between the knots. I arranged my roast in a pan surrounded by local apples, cippolini onions, and a few garlic cloves. Into the oven it went, and before I knew it, the entire kitchen smelled like sizzling bacon, rosemary, and sage.

For my sauce, I sautéed some minced shallots and hit it with about a cup of dry white wine.

After the wine had reduced to a mere tablespoon of liquid, I stirred in a cup of heavy cream, a large spoonful of whole-grain mustard, and a pinch of nutmeg.

The sauce slowly thickened on the back burner and intensified in flavor as it simmered. The rich, creamy sauce was sharp with mustard and the hint of nutmeg made it slightly Christmas-y.

One of the reasons that I love pork so much is that it is extremely versatile when it comes to wine pairing. As flavorful as it is, it can be transformed into something light and elegant and served with a delicate white wine, or manipulated to stand up to a big, brawny red.

In this instance, I popped a bottle of the 2009 Owen Roe, “Ex Umbris” Syrah from Washington State. Winemaker David O’Reilly (who I’ve written about in the past) just got some crazy accolades for this wine.

It was rated 93 points by Wine Spectator and ranked #25 on the Top 100 Wines of the Year list. Deep plum and dark cherry perfume the nose while peppery, red fruit swarms the palate. It has a creamy, velvety texture and a resemblance to biting into a bacon-wrapped date! It’s very typical for the Syrah grape to have a meaty, bacon fat quality to it, which makes it one of my favorite grape varietals. Slight notes of anise and root beer on the finish that is breathtakingly long.

I pulled the roast from the oven and the crispy prosciutto was shimmering! I inserted a meat thermometer and the doneness was perfect, almost 145 degrees (add about 10 more degrees after resting). Slicing into this beast was breathtaking!

All of the different colors, smells, and textures were mind-blowing as ring, after ring, of pork heaven flopped onto the cutting board. Each slice was a work of art and it was so incredibly easy to assemble. I served a slice of the roast with some caramelized cipollini onions, a drizzle of the rich mustard sauce, and a sprig of rosemary.

The juicy pork was so tender and the center was filled with bitter greens and crunchy walnuts, making for a perfect contrast. The crispy outside was salty and held all of the mouth-watering juices inside. Siobhan and I (yes, it was just the two of us and our creepy nutcrackers) sat down at the table, with some Christmas music, a mammoth roast that could serve 12, and a bottle of the #25 wine of the year.

It was a perfect start to the holiday season and an even more perfect reason to get back to the gym. Hopefully the next cover of a magazine that catches my eye demonstrates some portion control.

Tags: creamy mustard sauce, Owen Roe Ex Umbris, pork on pork, Prosciutto wrapped pork loin, roasted apples, Top 100 wines with food

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Pork, Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.