Sicilian Pork Roast with Garlic

Hello all. Hare here.

You know how they say "time flies when you're having fun?" Turns out time just flies. Having fun isn't a requirement. But as Ox said earlier this week, we are indeed back - for the mpoment, I believe we'll be sticking with one post a week from me with a recipes or two (or three or four or...), just to get our respective heads back in order.

Today, it's a dish that was a huge hit, even though I had one or two minor disappointments with it. How do I know it was a huge hit? Call it a hunch, but when conversation stops for a solid 20 minutes as people chow down and the leftovers you were counting on for lunch the next day just aren't there, I'd say it was a safe bet.

Sicilian Pork Roast with Garlic

Serves 6

3 pounds pork butt, cut into chunks
1/2 cup lemon juice (roughly 2 lemons worth)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
5 cloves of garlic, chopped, plus 5 whole cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 onions, cut into wedges
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon oil
3 ounces bacon, chopped
1 can (15 ounces) chopped tomatoes, drained

Combine pork, lemon juice, fennel seeds, chopped and whole garlic, olive oil, onions, and bay leaves in a large baking dish. Stir well. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle bacon over pork in baking dish

Roast pork, turing occasionally, until partially cooked, about 20 minutes

Add tomatoes to dish. Roast for 20 minutes longer. Remove bay leaves. Serve hot or at room temprature

Source: Easy Everyday Cooking Recipe Cards

Notes from the Hare

To make sure everything cooks quickly, cut the pork into 1 1/2 inch or smaller chunks. And if pork butt is too expensive, this dish works great with, say, bargin priced boneless pork spare ribs that are on sale at the grocery that week. Or at least it did for me.

You can stretch the dish a little farther by adding more vegetables. If you add in 4 quartered parsnips and 4 thickly sliced carrots when you add the tomatoes, this dish will easilly serve 8 or so.

You can prepare this dish up to a day ahead of when you need it, if you expect to be short on time. Keep it in the refridgerator, then just reheat and serve.

As listed, this makes for some nice, tender chunks of pork. If you like it a little cripsier, double the cooking times listed - 40 minutes before and after the tomatoes go in the baking dish. The extra baking time would probably also be a good way to adjust my one complaint with this dish - the bacon wasn't crispy, which is what I was personally hoping for. Mind you, no one else noticed, so it's probably just me.