It’s TBT and I’ve been feeling really nostalgic lately. Fall is my favorite season… the scent of fallen leaves and the way the color of the sunlight is changing… becoming flatter and less yellow, more silver… during the days. It takes me back to my teen years.
There were some truly wonderful days that to me, define the Autumn Season, like Saturdays when my best friend Joanne and I would grab fresh apples, stuff them into our pockets and walk across town to watch our local high school football team as they whomped yet another school team – go Scotties!
And the yearly trip my family would take to see the fall colors. My Mom and Dad would pile us kids into the car, and if I had my way my other best friend, Marylyn, would pile in with us. We’d drive for what felt like hours, then eat a picnic lunch on top of some mountain or other while Mom told Dad which scenes she wanted in pictures. Mom was always making Dad take pictures! Why? Because Dad was a painter and she was always looking for scenes for him to paint for her. While all the photography was happening, Marylyn and I would wander away, eating, talking about boys and reveling in the moment. The mountains were beautiful, but it was the trees, so full of color that they resembled fruit loops, that always made me love that time of year.
And then there were the special foods that we never cooked during the summer, but that were on the table just as soon as the weather turned cooler. Things like stews, pot roasts with tons of delicious vegetables and my Dad’s special recipe for Herbed Pork Roast with Root Vegetable Sauce. I have no idea where he came up with the recipe! I’ve never managed to find it listed in any cookbook or on any food websites… and I’ve looked! I want to attribute it if possible, but so far the only attribution I’m sure of is my Dad.
Here’s a picture of my Dad back in 2004, whipping up turkey gravy for a family Thanksgiving meal at his home. His health was declining by then, but he loved to be in the kitchen!
So on the weekends, Dad would head for the kitchen to make his herbed pork roast. He loved carrots, celery and onions, so those were the vegetables he always chose to use in this recipe. I like adding a bit of sweet potato and parsnips but for today, I’ll stick with what Dad liked best.
The thing that makes this pork roast different, and SO delicious is the sauce! It’s not a traditional gravy and contains no flour or other thickeners. Dad would place the fully braised, tender vegetables into a small strainer and mash them with the back of a spoon, then put them back into the pan juices and stir them in. It produced a nice thick sauce with texture from the bits of carrots, onions and celery that didn’t get totally smushed. It was awesome over his mashed potatoes and poured onto the slices of tender pork roast!
I’ve made the whole process slightly more modern just to make it easier on myself, but I still like to leave some small bits of carrot and celery in the sauce.
I’ve done the same with the basic recipe. Dad would give the pork roast a quick sear on high heat in the oven, just to “set the crust” as he put it, then he’d pour in 2 cans of beef consomme. Uh huh, not an easy thing to find anymore this consomme! I substitute plain old beef broth and I now add it right at the beginning of the cook, rather than having to open the oven, pull out the roast and add it after I’ve “set the crust”. I’m just lazy that way – sorry Dad.
So here’s my Dad’s herbed pork roast with root vegetable gravy.
My Dad always used a bone in pork loin roast, but I have a hard time finding one at our grocer’s, so I substitute a boned pork shoulder roast. It’s a bit fattier than I’d like it to be, and because the bones have been removed, it tends to split itself into two halves when I slice it, but the flavor is still the same as Dad’s, so I can live with the odd shape of it.
The first thing to make is the herb rub that will go all over the pork roast. If you remember the Simon and Garfunkel song Scarborough Fair, you can make the seasoning rub for the roast! Sing along with me… Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme…
The only other spices in the rub are salt and pepper.
Stir it all up, then drizzle a little olive oil onto the pork roast, rub it all over so that the herb rub sticks well…
Now that the pork roast is nice and slick, sprinkle the rub over every surface, making sure it’s well covered.
And when you’re done, it will look like this:
Now let that just sit for a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 375F and chop the vegetables.
It should be a large, rough chop since the vegetables will be braising in the oven for a long period of time. If you chop them thinly, they’ll cook down into mush and we can’t have that, now can we?!
Place the chopped veggies into the pan with the herb rubbed pork roast. Distribute them evenly around the roast, then pour in 2 cans of beef broth, or beef consomme if you can find it!
Pop the roasting pan into the 375F oven for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325F and roast for about 2 1/2 -3 hours, depending on the size and thickness of your pork roast. Figure about 30 minutes per pound and roast it till it’s 165 degrees in the center of the roast. This pork roast weighed 5 pounds and took a total of 2 1/2 hours to cook.
Set the pork roast onto a serving platter to rest while you make the gravy. Cover it lightly with foil to keep it warm.
Place the vegetables into a food processor, leaving the juices in the pan. Strain off any fat from the pan juices, then add the juices to the food processor.
Process on low just till the large pieces of carrots have broken up. Turn the processor to high for 3 seconds, or pulse quickly. You want the vegetables to be small, but not completely pureed.
Oh and note to self: Don’t try to take pictures of the food processing bits while you also try to whirl the vegetables! This will result in gravy that resembles baby food – yuk! Lesson learned…
Serve the root vegetable sauce over slices of the herbed pork roast and mashed potatoes. It’s the perfect meal for a cool autumn day!
- 1 4-5 pound Pork Loin Roast - bone in is best, but not necessary
- 1 Large Onion
- 3-4 Large Carrots - or other root vegetables
- 3 Large Stalks of Celery
- 2 Cans of Beef Consomme or Beef Broth
- For the Herb Rub:
- 1 tablespoon Salt
- 2 teaspoons Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- Make the herb rub by combining all the spices in a small bowl.
- Place the pork roast into a large roasting pan.
- Rub the roast with a small amount of olive oil, then sprinkle the herb rub over the entire roast, making sure it's all well covered.
- Let the roast rest in the roasting pan while you chop the vegetables.
- Chop all the vegetables into 1 inch pieces. This should be a rough chop so that the vegetables retain their shapes during the long roasting period.
- Add the vegetables to the roasting pan and distribute them evenly around the pork roast.
- Add the 2 cans of consomme or broth to the pan.
- Roast, uncovered, at 375F for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325F.
- Continue roasting for 2 - 3 hours, depending on the size and thickness of the pork roast. The internal temperature of the finished roast should be 165 degrees.
- Remove the pork roast from the pan to a serving platter. Cover lightly with foil and let it rest.
- Strain out the vegetables and place them into the food processor or blender.
- Remove excess fat from the pan juices, then add the juices to the food processor.
- Process on low just till the carrots have broken up, then pulse just till all is mixed together.
- Don't over process the gravy or it will thicken too much and resemble baby food!
- Serve the root vegetable sauce over mashed potatoes and slices of the herbed pork roast.
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