Pigs, prunes, and potatoes. Not very inspiring. But Longe de Porc aux Pruneaux (Roast Pork Loin with Prunes) is tasty…if you like prunes.

First, you butterfly the pork so that you can shimmy all the prunes in the middle. Then you tie up (and curse while tying) the pork with butcher's twine to keep the prunes in place. After searing the pork with the carrots and onions, you roast it in the oven.

Meanwhile, you steep the prunes in Ceylon tea. {I bet you could steep them in all sorts of flavors such as star anise or cardamom.} Sounds crazy, but it's tasty…if you like prunes!

The key to this dish is the sweet and sour reduction called a gastrique. Basically, it's a caramelized sauce of vinegar and sugar. I think any meat tastes better with a sauce, and pork pairs nicely with something a little sweet balanced by the acidity of the vinegar.

After roasting the pork, set it aside and deglaze the pan with some water. Add the pan juices to the gastrique. Taste and season, et violà, you have a delicious roast pork loin with prunes…if you like prunes.

The second part of this course is the puréed potatoes (which should have been puréed celery root, but I forgot about that ingredient when I was at the grocery store and ended up using my baby potatoes which I just smashed, skin and all).

Recipe: Longe de Porc aux Pruneaux (Roast Pork Loin with Prunes)

Serves: 6

Ingredients: 

You can find the recipe for Longe de Porc aux Pruneaux (Roast Pork Loin with Prunes) and Mousseline de Céleri Rave (Creamed Celery Root Purée) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home. To see how the rest of the Whisk Wednesdays group fared with their recipe, click here (or check out the sidebar) and then click on each blogger!

Tasting Notes
The light flavor of pork paired perfectly with the prunes hidden inside…if you like prunes, which I do! The sauce lightly drizzled on top added depth, moisture and sweetness to each bite.

I think next time introducing some apricot into the juice would bring an interesting color to the sauce that would complement the prunes and add some zing. In fact, I may also try combining chopped prunes and apricots to stuff the pork, for the same reasons.

Next Class
• Savarin aux Kiwis et aux Fraises (Rum Savarin with Kiwis and Strawberries) pages 409-410

. . . . . . . . . .

Running total: $1,346.91 + $22.00 (pork) + $4.23 (other ingredients) + $3.42 (potatoes) = $1376.56
($4.94 per serving)

Butter used so far: 12 pounds, 6.5 tablespoons

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Up next is another roast, but this time it's lavender and rosemary-laden pork tenderloin. This recipe comes from a famous Ottawa foodie, Chris Knight, President of Knight Enterprises, and the brainchild behind some hit food television shows, including my all-time favorite: Cook Like a Chef. He's also produced The Great Canadian Food Show, Licensed to Grill, and Junk Brothers.

I asked my Whisk Wednesdays group if they get Cook Like a Chef in the US on the Food Network, and they don't. The Food Network is missing out on the best cooking show ever, hands down. It's a half-hour show featuring one of six Canadian chefs and three to four recipes or techniques per episode. And the set is unique too, showing every move the chef makes with close-ups from the cameras that are in plain view and giving a 360˚ view of what's happening.

You can order the first season of Cook Like a Chef on DVD (available in April 2009) here: Cook Like a Chef: Season 1. (Mine is on order.) You can also buy the cookbook, Cook Like a Chef: Techniques, Tips and Secrets from the Professional Kitchen to Yours, which I own. (I also have the music CD from the show. What can I say? I'm a fan!}

I'm making 5 meals in 5 hours to avoid the "What's for dinner" question. I'll post one meal each day, in the order I made them. Here's the plan:

1. Savory Pot Roast
2. Shrimp Curry (or you could substitute chicken)
3. Chicken Stir-Fry (or you could substitute tofu)
4. Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
5. Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Chicken or Pasta

After making the Chicken Stir-Fry, you can start chopping the ingredients for the Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin.

Recipe: Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

from Cook Like a Chef: Techniques, Tips and Secrets from the Professional Kitchen to Yours (affiliate link)

Serves: 8-10 (based on 1 pound of pork serving 4)

To Prepare and Eat Now: