Pork Roast with Roasted Vegetable Sauce

I like Lidia Bastianich's cooking shows on PBS and I have a couple of her cookbooks. One I bought specifically for a dessert recipe (ricotta dumplings with warm strawberry sauce) that I was shocked not to find anywhere on the internet, despite that it was featured on her show. That was last year. I still haven't made it.


I did, however, use one of her recipes from Lidia's Family Table last night. Finding myself with a large pork loin roast from a supermarket sale I could not pass up, I was trolling through my cook books and found her recipe for Roast Pork Shoulder with Roast Vegetable Sauce. I just happened to have all the ingredients, except leeks, on hand. It is an easy dish to prepare and yields a tender meat with a wonderful sauce. It does take 2 to 2 1/2 hours of cooking time though, so it is a nice weekend meal. The house smelled delicious all afternoon.


I served it up with a mashed rutabaga and potato mixture, and a side of peas. Lately, I am all about sneaking turnips, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and other root vegetables into my mashed potatoes. It is just so much more flavorful and healthy. I think a creamy polenta would also be wonderful with this.

Roast Pork Shoulder with Roast Vegetable Sauce
Serves 6-8

5-7 lb. pork shoulder roast, bone in (I used a 4.5 pound pork loin)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (I used a couple tsp.)
4 medium onions, peeled and chopped into 1/2" pieces (I used 1 1/2 extra large ones)
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks (I used three large; we like carrots)
2 medium leeks (white and green parts), rinsed and chopped into 1/2' pieces (I left this out)
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2" pieces
1-2 cloves minced garlic (my addition)
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, chopped into small bits (1/4 cup)
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 packed Tbs. fresh rosemary needles (I used about 2 tsp. dried, crumbled)
2 large bay leaves
3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (I used a Tbs. or so)
1 tsp. salt, or less to taste
3 cups turkey or vegetable broth, or water (I used canned chicken stock)
1 1/2 cups dry white wine

Arrange rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400° F. Rinse and dry the roast, leaving fat on top. Rub with oil and salt. Set, fat side up, in roasting pan.

Scatter all chopped vegetables and seasonings (except the 1 tsp. salt) around and toss everything together with oil. Pour the wine and stock into the pan so the cooking liquid is 1" deep.

Roast for an hour then turn the vegetables and return it to the oven for another hour or so. Lydia says the internal temp should be 170° but I think 155-160° is better for a loin roast. You can return it to the empty roasting pan and crisp it up more in a 425° oven, if desired. A glaze of 2 Tbs. B grade maple syrup and 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard can be applied at this time. (I did not return the roast to the oven as it already has a nice exterior).

Remove the pork to a platter to rest. Using a potato masher, crush the cooked vegetables in the juices, breaking them up into little bits. Set a sieve over a saucepan and pour the veggies and juices into it, pressing to release as much liquid as possible. After it settles, skim the fat. Bring the pan juices to a boil and reduce until it is the consistency and flavor you like. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

She also suggests you can thicken it with some fine breadcrumbs (about 1 tsp. per cup of sauce; then strain again before serving).

Still haven't installed the tile backsplash yet, but...

An aside about my range:
This is a time when I really appreciated the fifth, middle burner on my range. It is the perfect size for roasting pans—great for making gravies and for searing things before an oven braise. When we remodeled the kitchen in this house, I shopped around and ended up getting a GE Cafe range. It had the biggest oven, plus a second oven below, and a fifth middle burner that makes the entire cook surface one level, which I love when I need to move big pans around. It also has a griddle you can use with the middle burner, which I use all the time. It has two high BTU burners that bring things to a boil in a flash and all the burners simmer like a dream—no more burnt rice. It was also a lot cheaper than other stoves I was looking at. I found a good price online which Lowes matched. Then I used a 20% off coupon and got a rebate for free shipping. I got the matching hood too, which I also love.