Luca’s Signature Entree: Arrosto di Maiale Con Le Prugne

Confessing My Love for Cooked Prunes: Part II

It was during breakfast at our hotel on Lago di Como (Lake Como) last weekend when I was reminded once again how much I love cooked prunes. The breakfast buffet had a lovely platter of stewed prunes, which in my opinion are even better than raw prunes because they’re more succulent and easier to digest. (As we were travelling I felt especially appreciative because the prunes do a nice job of keeping everything regular–a nice security when you’re on the road eating new & strange things…)

Anyways! Luca reminded me that I hadn’t yet posted his infamous recipe for Roasted Pig with Prunes. I highly reccomend you make this at home, because it’s so freaking good.

Luca’s Splendiforous Pork Roast With Prunes
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 Piece of Pork that’s good for roasting 700g
Onions 2 1/2 ea.
Carrot 1 ea.
Celery 1 stalk
Salt & Pepper
Rosemary 2 3″ long branches
Bay Leaf 2 ea.
Large Marine Salt
Juniper 6 berries
Whole Cloves 2 ea.
Cognac 1 cup
Red Wine 4 cups
Prunes in Syrup 1 jar/can (it’s important that they’re in syrup because the liquid is a big part of what makes this dish soo good. Check the canned fruit department in your grocery store)
Prunes, not in syrup (the regular dried fruit) 10 or so

Method
Note: For this dish we’re using the same type of pot that we used for the previous Sausage in Red Wine dish–in Italy it’s called a casserole dish–in the USA it looks like a wide, deep frying pan with medium-high sides. Make sure that the sides are nice and tall (about 4 inches).

1. Finely chop half of the carrot, half of the celery and two whole onions (The rest of the veg we’ll chop differently later on). Place olive oil, chopped onion, carrot, celery, and a pinch of large sea salt into the pan over medium-high heat. Cook the finely chopped vegetables, stirring often. Don’t be afraid to let them color. Color=Flavor. (Stirring will help the veggies color evenly instead of burning).

2. When the veggies are nice and brown, and the flame is lively (these are Luca’s words! AKA You want the pan to be nice and hot), sprinkle the pork roast with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and place it in the hot pan. Add the rosemary and bay leaf. Cook, turning occasionaly for about 15 minutes. **Helpful Hint** You want to let the meat brown before turning it. That is, in order to have good flavor, the meat needs to caramelize on the outside, fond (the crusty stuff on the bottom of the pan) needs to form before you turn the meat. So let the pork cook for a few minutes before turning and allowing it to cook on the other sides.

3. After about 15 minutes, add the cognac and lower the flame; let simmer for 2 minutes. While the cognac is simmering, chop the rest of the celery, carrot and onion into roughly 1 inch pieces. Add the big vegetables, juniper, cloves, and 1 glass of red wine. Let the wine reduce.

4. When the wine has reduced by about half, add half the jar of prunes (reserve the liquid for later) and 1 glass of red wine. Let reduce for about 10 minutes (still over a low flame). When the wine has reduced to very little, add the dry prunes and another glass of red wine. Cover and let cook over a low flame for at least 20 minutes.

5. Finally, add the remaining prunes and their syrup and the last glass of red wine. Cook just until the meat is cooked to the doneness you like and serve hot! Bon Appetito!