One of my favorite things to do in the fall and winter months is to make a big, comforting meal on a Sunday afternoon (while watching football, of course!). The weather is cool enough to have the oven on all day and the produce this time of year is perfect to pair with a turkey or pork roast. I had been craving stuffing, but I did not get my act together in time to cube bread and let it sit out and get stale. So, I had to settle for roasted potatoes, butternut squash and Brussels sprouts to serve alongside a pork loin. Poor me, huh? ;)
This is an easy, healthy meal and, depending on the size of the roast, could also be made during the work week. You can easily change up the vegetables too. Sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots or turnips would be great too!
Roasted Pork Loin with Roasted Harvest Vegetables
For the roast:
2 1/2 lb boneless pork loin (not a tenderloin)
Oil (any light tasting oil)
Salt & pepper
Poultry seasoning
For the roasted veggies:
1 1/4 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 lb potatoes (I used red and yellow fingerlings), diced
10 oz bag of frozen Brussels sprouts*
Oil
Salt & pepper
Garlic powder
Preheat oven to 375°.
Heat an oven-proof** pan large enough to hold the pork and the veggies and add oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. I used my oval deep sided frying pan to make this meal, however you can roast the veggies and meat separately. I was just too lazy to clean more than one pan! I think next time I will roast the veggies separately since the veggies didn't get as browned as I would have preferred. If you choose to roast the meat and the veggies separately, toss them in oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder and place in a roasting pan. Place in the oven to start roasting while you brown the pork. The veggies should take about an hour and you'll want to check on them every 15 minutes or so and toss them to make sure they don't stick to the pan and they cook evenly.
While the pan heats, season the pork on all sides using salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Once the pan is warm, add the pork to the pan and brown on both sides. This should take about 10-12 minutes total. You'll continue to cook the roast in the oven so you don't want to cook it too far beyond browning. Once the pork is browned on all sides, remove the meat from the pan and set aside. If necessary, add more oil to the pan you used to cook the pork and add in the veggies. Add salt, pepper and garlic and toss.
Make room in the middle of the veggies and add the roast back into the pan. Put the pan in the oven and cook for about an hour (20 minutes per pound). Every 15 minutes or so, stir the veggies to they cook evenly. Once the meat reaches 150°, take it out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Loosely cover the pork with foil to rest while the veggies continue to cook. Toss the veggies some more and place back in the oven while the pork rests. Slice the pork and serve with veggies.
Enjoy!
*I have found that using frozen Brussels for roasting works very well. They don't get mushy like they do when you steam frozen Brussels.
**If you aren't sure if your pan is oven-proof, wrap the handle(s) in foil to ensure they don't get ruined while in the oven.
Labels: healthy, pork, vegetables
For the roasted veggies:
