Tender Pork With Sage and Potatoes Roasted in Milk Recipe

Author:

Ryan Thomas is a university student who enjoys cooking recipes from a wide variety of culinary traditions.

Rich, sophisticated, elegant, simple, hearty, filling . . . I could go on!

The name of this recipe might call to mind memories of the milk baths that Queen Elizabeth apparently loved to indulge in to keep her skin pale, supple, and beautiful. Here, the milk serves a different purpose entirely as it bakes the pork, potatoes, and a host of different seasonings. This unique preparation elevates it above a traditional pork roast, producing a wonderfully rich, sophisticated, pretty, and even rather easy dish.

It's miraculous how a heady and diverse spice marinade, followed by a quick searing technique to lock in the flavor and then a lengthy milk bath, can produce an incredibly tender, rich, and complex meal. Hearty and filling, this dish is perfect for any cold winter night, though it would also be delightful at any time of year.

I adapted this recipe from La cuisine française: la + simple du monde. It is certainly one of my favorite cookbooks, and as the title implies, the recipes are very simple indeed—which leaves plenty of room to come up with improvements.

Ingredients

2 pounds pork roast
1 1/2 quarts milk
5 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
10 sprigs rosemary
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon sage
3 tablespoons butter
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon thyme
1 onion, peeled and chopped

Instructions

At least 6 hours (or preferably the previous day) before you plan to serve this dish, rub the garlic, sage, and 5 sprigs of rosemary on the meat. Place the seasoned meat in the refrigerator and allow the flavors to work their way in.
After this is done, remove the garlic from the meat. Heat butter until it melts in a skillet, then sear the pork for a few minutes on both sides (this locks in the flavor).
Fill a large oven-safe casserole dish with a mixture of the peeled and chopped onions and potatoes, rosemary, and the meat. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and tarragon. Pour the milk over it, so that it is almost covered.
Place it into a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 70 minutes, leaving the top open. If need be, baste the contents of the pan or move it around so as to make sure that the top does not become burned and it is evenly cooked. Make sure the potatoes are cooked through. Serve.