Roast Pork with Pears

"I found this recipe in the Williams-Sonoma magazine. See my notes below"


Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
* 1/4 cup packed roughly chopped fresh sage,
plus whole sage leaves for roasting
* 3 whole garlic cloves, plus 2 cloves, minced
* Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
* 5 Tbs. olive oil
* 1 boneless pork loin roast, about 3 1/2 lb.,
halved horizontally
* 3 ripe red Anjou pears, halved lengthwise
* 4 leeks, white portions only, trimmed, halved
lengthwise and rinsed

Sauce (optional)
* 2 tsp. all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup dry white wine
* 1/2 cup chicken broth
* 2 Tbs. whole-grain mustard
* 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F.

In food processor, process the parsley, chopped sage, whole garlic, salt, pepper and 3 Tbs. of the olive oil until a fine paste forms. Spread the mixture on the cut side of one half of the pork loin, then place the other half on top. Tie the roast together with kitchen twine and tuck whole sage leaves underneath the twine. Season the roast with salt and pepper.

In a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the pears, cut side down, and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the pork to the pot and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Place the leeks, cut side down, in the pot in a single layer. Set the pork on top and place the pears along the sides of the pot.

Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the pork registers 140°F, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pork to a carving board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Transfer the leeks and pears to a platter.

Pour the pan drippings into a bowl and discard all but 2 tsp. of the fat. Warm the reserved fat in the pot over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add the broth and pan drippings and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the mustard and cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the pork into slices and arrange on the platter. Pass the sauce alongside. Serves 8 to 10.


NOTES:

-I did not feel confident in wrapping my roast in twine, so I bought a roast with twine already. I did not cut it in half.

-The spices and oil did not turn into a paste in the food processor no matter what I did. I rubbed it on the outside of the roast instead of what the directions said.

-When it came to browing the pears, the directions said med to high heat. This made the pears burn after two minutes. I would suggest browning them on low to medium heat and continue to check them.

-Since I burnt my dutch oven with oil I did not brown the roast on the outside. I put all of the ingredients in a large roasting pan instead.

-The directions didn't say whether to cover it or not so I covered it for 1 hour and 15 minutes and left it uncovered for 45 minutes. I also drizzled honey over the roast and pears after uncovering it to get a sweet caramelized outside. Bringing the total baking time to 2 hours

-I did not make the sauce ingredients. Instead I made home-made creamy honey mustard sauce with miracle whip, mustard and honey