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Betsy Block

Roasted Pork Loin with Mustard Breadcrumbs and Haricots Verts



Ingredients

From Sunday Suppers at Lucques (Knopf; 2005)
By Suzanne Goin


Pork marinade
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon thyme leaves plus 3 whole sprigs

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

10 cloves garlic, smashed

3 pounds pork loin, center cut

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 sprigs rosemary, broken into 3 inch pieces

3 sprigs sage plus 10 sage leaves

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


haricots verts and spring onions

1 1/2 pounds haricots verts, topped but not tailed

3 bunches young onions

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons thyme leaves

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

10 small sage leaves

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blanch the haricots verts in a large pot of salted boiling water 2-3 minutes until tender, but still al dente.

Cut the young onions 1 inch above the bulb leaving some green top still attached. Trim the roots but leave the root-end intact (this will keep the onions in wedges, rather than slices). Cut the onions lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick wedges.

Heat a large saut pan over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Swirl in 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the onions to the pan with 2 teaspoons thyme. Season with salt and pepper and gently saut the onion wedges 2-3 minutes, until they start to brown slightly. Add the haricots verts, season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring to combine and then add the butter and sage leaves. Cook a few more minutes, tossing to glaze the vegetables in the butter and letting the sage perfume them. Taste for seasoning.

mustard breadcrumbs

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1 teaspoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Place the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Heat a small saut pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons butter and when it foams, whisk the mustard, thyme, and parsley. Remove from the heat, let cool a few minutes, and then toss the mustard butter with the breadcrumbs coating them well. Transfer the breadcrumbs to a baking sheet and toast them 10-12 minutes, until they're golden brown and crispy.



Directions

Whisk together the mustard, parsley, thyme leaves, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a shallow baking dish. Stir in the garlic and slather the pork with the mustard mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Take the pork out of the refrigerator one hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature. After 30 minutes, season the pork generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Reserve the marinade.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Heat a large saut pan over high heat for 3 minutes. Swirl in 2 tablespoons olive oil and wait a minute or two, until the pan is very hot and almost smoking. Place the pork loin in the pan and sear it on all sides until well-browned and caramelized.

Transfer the pork loin to a roasting rack and slather the reserved marinade over the top. Slice the butter and place it on top of the pork. Arrange the rosemary, sage, and thyme sprigs on top.

Roast the pork, basting often with the melted butter, herbs, and natural juices, 45 minutes to an hour, until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 130F to 135F. Remove the pork from the oven and rest at least 10 minutes.

Arrange the haricots verts and spring onions on a large warm platter. Thinly slice the pork (1/4 inch thick) and fan it over the beans. Spoon some of the buttery juices and herbs over the meat and shower the mustard breadcrumbs over the top.



Notes

This is an extremely elaborate recipe, but most of it can easily be done ahead. I did the lion's share of the prep, kitchen cleanup and had taken the kids out to breakfast and returned home all by 10 a.m. (but then we get up sickeningly early in our house). The meat was in the fridge being infused with flavor while we went about our day, living life to the fullest. Then, I finished the veggies and had the roast in the oven by the time our friends arrived, so the adults relaxed and drank fine wine while the roast cooked. OK, not really, because there were three kids under the age of five careening around the house (plus E), but anyway. Sounds good in theory.

The final verdict? Dinner may not have been relaxing, but it was the bomb.