Normandy-Style Pork Loin
- Yield 8 servings
Calvados, a French apple brandy, intensifies the apple flavor in this pork roast.
Ingredients
- 1 (3 to 4-pound) boneless pork loin
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter
- 5 tablespoons Calvados, peach or apricot brandy
- 3 medium onions, sliced
- 3 medium yellow Delicious apples, peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- Rosemary, salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
Instructions
- Brown the pork on all sides in the heated butter and oil in a Dutch oven. Remove to a flameproof platter.
- Heat the brandy in a large metal ladle or saucepan. Ignite the brandy and carefully pour over the pork; allow the flames to subside.
- Add the onions to the drippings in the Dutch oven. Saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender but not brown.
- Add the apples. Cook over medium-high heat until the apples and onions are golden brown. Stir in the flour and cook for several minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.
- Return the pork to the saucepan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the pork is tender. Remove the pork to a heated platter; cover and keep warm.
- Strain the sauce. Puree the sauce in a food processor. Return to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to a sauce that will coat the spoon.
- Add the cream and cook just until heated through. Adjust the seasonings.
- Carve the pork diagonally into 1/4-inch slices. Spoon the sauce over the slices.
Recipe reprinted with permission from the Junior League of Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, First Impressions, Dining with Distinction (the Junior League of Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, Inc., 2001).
