ROAST LOIN OF PORK

INTRODUCTION

In the early decades of the 1400's the Union of Florence was briefly enacted between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. At one of the many banquets held to celebrate the Union a joint of roast pork was served to the Greek bishops. To express their unanimous approval of the dish they exclaimed "Aristos, aristos!" meaning, "Good, very good!". The term stuck and in Tuscany arista refers to the pig's loin with ribs still attached, cut as a single piece. The dish demands top quality, free-range pork which is not always easy to procure: we thus have developed our own interpretation. The recipe which follows should be viewed as a guide, rather than definitive: much will depend on the quality of the loin of pork. Traditionally the dish is served with fagioli all'uccelletto and pane toscano. 

Consider accompanying with a bottle of Morellino di Scansano from western Tuscany, Italy. 

INGREDIENTS

Stage 1 ingredients

1½ kilos/ 3.3 lbs of prime loin of pork on the bone

fine sea salt - a teaspoon or so

3 large cloves of garlic

4 - 5 fresh sage leaves

2 medium sized sprigs of rosemary

a sprig of thyme

1 teaspoon of mixed coloured peppercorns, coarsely milled

1 teaspoon of best quality Olive Oil

string

INSTRUCTIONS

Stage 1 cooking instructions 

Trim the loin of pork of any excess fat but retain the fat and the skin on the top of the loin. 

Turn the joint upside down and using a sharp knife make incisions alongside the ribs. Rub the pork with fine sea salt and put to one side. 

Peel the garlic and finely slice. Remove the mid leaves from the sage leaves and coarsely chop. Detach the leaves from the sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Use a mezzaluna and finely chop all the ingredients. Add the coarsely milled peppercorns and empty into a small bowl. Add a little oil (best quality) to bind the ingredients. This is the marinade/stuffing. 

Rub a small amount of marinade/stuffing in between the incisions made along the ribs of pork and on the end pieces. 

Truss with string, place in a roasting tin, cover with foil and place the roasting tin in the refrigerator for 12 - 24 hours.

 

Stage 2 cooking instructions 

Take the prepared pork in its roasting tray out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. 

Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Uncover the pork, place in the oven and cook for about 1 hour 45 minutes, or until cooked. Do not turn the joint of meat. 

Take the pork out of the oven and place on a chopping board. 

Let it rest for about 10 minutes, remove all string and seoarate it from the rib bones, then carve it and replace it on the rib bones as if it were still whole. Serve at once, with the crackling on one side.