Sunday Dinner-Herb crusted Pork Roast

Bruce brought home a Pork Loin Roast.  He loves pork.  Pork loin is "white meat" and it can be a little dry because it is so lean.  I don't like to eat the fat, so for that reason I like to brine my pork roasts. But I didn't have time to brine the roast to retain moisture, so I made sure not to overcook it.  Pork Roast can also be a bit boring so I went into the garden to forage and came up with this...

fresh herbs from the garden, a little garlic, a little olive oil, some compound butter, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and we had a spectacularly flavored pork roast. It had layers of complex flavor.  I sent "doggie bags" to daughters (via the one who came home) who weren't even at the meal.

It was decided that this is one of the best flavored pork roasts to ever grace our dining room table.  There was plenty left over for sandwiches.  Bruce declared his plan to make one for dinner with the pork and my homemade blackberry jalapeno jelly.  I wish I had thought of that!

I added a fresh garden veggie saute, some garlic roasted potatoes, and my homemade applesauce on the side. This roast was so good; it will be in my permanent rotation for Sunday dinners.

Check back for a post on freezing those summer herbs so you can make this recipe all winter.

Garden Herb-Crusted Pork Loin Roast

4 or 5 pound sirloin pork roast (may be trimmed of all fat)

1 teaspoon of butter (I used a compound butter made with basil, Parmesan cheese, and salt)

2 Tablespoons of olive oil

4 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon of fresh thyme (I used Lemon Thyme), chopped

1 Tablespoon of fresh basil, chopped

1 teaspoon of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary (if using fresh, use 1 teaspoon)

1 Tablespoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Trim excess fat from the roast.  (You may leave a small fat cap so the roast will not dry out in place of rubbing the roast with butter).  Wash and completely dry the roast.  Rub the butter (if using) onto the top of the roast.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper together.  Pat the entire roast with the herb mixture, put on a rack in a roasting pan and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the roast set in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

With the fat or butter side up, remove the plastic wrap and roast uncovered for 25 minutes at 475º F.  Turn the oven down to 400º F. and roast for about another 25 minutes or until a meat thermometer stuck into the middle of the roast reads 145-150º F.  Remove the roast from the oven and loosely cover with aluminum foil.  Let the roast rest for 20 minutes before slicing.  The roast will continue to cook as it rests.

Slice and serve.