Splurge and not so unhealthily: spice crusted pork loin with mushroom gravy

There are so  many food myths that surround us, ragazzi, that it can be very easy to be fooled by what we eat, or don't eat.  Annalena starts with this because she is discussing eating pork.  Some of you do not eat pork as a matter of religious, philosophical, and/or ethical considerations, and that is your choice.  For those of you who are not eating it because "it's not healthy," well, let's visit this question, shall we?

If this question had been posed to Annalena 15 or even 10 years ago, she would have said "yes, pork does not belong on your diet."  But with the advent of heirloom animal husbandry, different approaches to raising and cooking animals, Annalena thinks you'd be surprised at how close it is to other "healthier" choices.

Some numbers.   Annalena looked up the nutrition data for 4 ounce serving of turkey breast, without skin.  What could be better?  Well,  here are the numbers:  the turkey contains 153 calories.  Yes, it contains less than a gram of fat, but... ready for this, ragazzi?  It contains 31% of your daily cholesterol allotment.

Looking at the same quantity of pork loin (assuming you do not eat the exterior fat, which is the same as not eating the turkey skin).  The calories come to 150, and the cholesterol?  To 28%.  Agreed, there is scads of fat in the meat, but how many of you are more worried about your CHOLESTEROL  and  your CALORIES than fat?    Annalena thought so.  So, while she would never advocated eating this every day, nor would she espouse the fact that all cuts of pork are lean and on the healthy side, she affirms that there is a place in your diet for pork, if you like it.

And there is no better way to like it, than this rather simple recipe.  The gravy is a bit more challenging, but only a bit.  You can do this.  You should.  Let's go.

First, you need a small , boneless pork loin roast.  By "small", Annalena means between 1.5 and 3 pounds.  These monsters can come in at 8-9  pounds, so either ask the butcher to cut you a small one, or buy a big one, and store it away for the future in your freezer (this is what Annalena did).

Do as we always do with meat:  rub it all over with salt, and leave it, uncovered, in the fridge overnight.  When  you are ready to cook,  preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Let's make our spice rub:  get two tablespoons of fennel seeds, a tablespoon of anise seeds, and half of a dry, hot red pepper.  Dump out the seeds if you are heat sensitive, leave them if you are not.  Put them all in your spice grinder, and create a powder.    Dump that out on a flat plate, and then rub your roast with a tablespoon of olive oil.  There's more than enough oil.  Now, just roll the roast through the powder, put it in the oven, and let it cook for forty minutes or so.  That will give you rosy pork.  If you are nervous, go for another ten, but no more than that.

The risk of overcooking the pork is balanced by the gravy we're about to make.  First, slice up an onion very fine.  Then, between 1/3 and 1/2  pound of mushrooms.  Wild ones if you have them.  (Annalena used trumpet mushrooms).  You will also need a tablespoon of flour, and two cups of chicken broth, and you may not use all of it.    Put another tablespoon of olive oil in a big skillet, and heat it up. Add the onions, and saute' them to the point where they begin to get translucent.  Add your mushrooms at this point, and a pinch of salt.  Stir things around, and lower the heat.  Keep cooking, stirring occasionally, until you see water come off of the mushrooms, and then evaporate.

At this point, sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the  vegetables, and stir everything together.  It will be a bit of a mess, but don't worry.  Now get your stock, and add the first cup.  Stir everything around,  and keep it moving.  You'll see the thing begin to almost "gel" from the flour.  You'll probably want at least another half cup of stock to bring it to a point where you feel it's "gravy like," and that's fine.  Just keep adding it, until you have a consistency you like.    Taste it, and add salt and pepper.

Does Annalena have to tell you what to do next? You slice the roast, and pour some of the gravy over it.  Or, slice the roast, and put the slices into the gravy for a minute or two.  Or, you can roast the pork ahead of time, make the gravy, and then slice  the pork and put it in warm gravy.  Lots of possibilities.

Pork loin is certainly not the cheapest food in the universe ragazzi, but it is cheaper than the halibut Annalena did NOT buy yesterday, and everyone needs to splurge every now and then.  YOU CAN DO THIS . Find a special occasion, and make it.  And everyone will fuss and coo about what a wonderful cook you are, and you can smile and say thank you.  Be gracious.  It becomes you.