Spanish pork roast and brown rice

Tonight I tried another method for pork roast, which I've come to regard with wariness and low expectations. With the exception of CI's maple-glazed pork loin, I have never been too impressed with the oven-roasted pork recipes I've found. This time I mixed two Epicurious recipes---the ingredients for one and the method for a another---and the results were fantastic. The recipe is below. I wasn't entirely sure about the raisins, but I knew dried fruit and pork was a traditional combination, and I'm here to tell you it works.

I also had another Cooking for Two (2011) success: I used the Spanish-style skillet brown rice recipe with chickpeas and saffron, except for the saffron, because vanilla beans are about the most expensive I'll go for spices. Oh, and the pimentón de la vera that I used for the pork was a real splurge. Like, $6 for a palm-sized tin. So you see how I think. Since I remember Daisy Martinez saying that the flavors are similar, I used a pinch of whole achiote seeds steeped in the broth (and then strained out) instead. I'm not really sure if it made a difference, but whatever. I forgot we were eating brown rice because the texture was very much like white, which means this will definitely be my go-to brown rice method from now on.

I forgot to take pictures and already sliced up the leftover pork for salad...oh well. It was a nice brick red color with all the paprika, but otherwise not much to look at. 

Spanish Pork Roast with Sherry-Raisin Vinaigrette
Pork:
1 (2 1/2) lb. boneless pork loin roast, tied if unevenly sized
2 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. sweet smoked Spanish paprika (La Chinata brand is available at Alon's. It comes in sweet, bittersweet, and hot; either of the first two would work here.)
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. fresh coarse ground black pepper

Vinaigrette:
2 Tbsp. golden raisins
2 Tbsp. dry sherry
2 1/2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 small shallot, minced
salt and pepper
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

1. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and tie down its length with butcher's twine if necessary. Stir together salt, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, and pepper and rub generously over surface of the pork. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6-12 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350. Bring the pork to room temperature, about 30 minutes if your kitchen is warm. Set pork on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet and roast until the center registers 140 degrees, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest, loosely covered with foil, til temperature rises to 150 degrees, about 10 minutes.

3. While pork cooks, make vinaigrette: soak raisins in the sherry for 30 minutes. Add vinegar, shallots, and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in oil. Add parsley just before serving.

4. Slice rested pork thinly and plate with a generous drizzle of the vinaigrette. Serves about 6.

Why I know my husband loves me

Because with minimal begging---in fact, none---he bought me the 2010 and 2011 editions of Cooking for Two from Cook's Illustrated. For a couple of weeks they were offering both books for the price of one, and since I haven't been getting the CI magazine for some time, it was unlikely that I would already have seen any the recipes. I spent last night and today leafing through the 2010 book and pasting my little neon sticky notes (thanks Heidi!) on must-try recipes. I even made two things from the book for dinner tonight (which see below). I was doubly happy to see the books arrive yesterday because unfortunately, there is ample reason to be wary when you are dealing with the marketing department of Cook's Illustrated---just google "Cook's Illustrated" and "complaints." Anyway, I'm happy. We aren't anti-leftovers by any means, but with some foods they're not practical, and it's very helpful to have recipes already scaled down and tested to ensure they work for two people. And of course I am devoted to Cook's Illustrated in their meticulously detailed directions and explanations of technique, not to mention the way they head off any "substitution disasters" with notes like "do NOT substitute fat-free milk here" (not that I would be inclined to that particular swap-out).

So tonight I made the "spa chicken" and the bacon-braised green beans from Cooking for Two 2010. The chicken...boring story, but the result was that I overcooked it. Still, it wasn't bad, and I loved the flavor of the mock broth (water, smashed garlic, thyme, soy sauce of all things) used to poach them. I'll definitely be trying this again with one of the lean sauce recipes given (I had too much going on on the stove tonight to attempt that).

The green beans were just fantastic. Best ever. Before, I didn't really have a recipe for slow-cooked green beans, which is how M prefers them (Cracker Barrel is the standard for him); I had tried different ingredients (always chicken broth, usually garlic and onions and bacon) with varying success. This recipe used a small amount of broth, onions, bacon, thyme, brown sugar, and cider vinegar. I was a little wary of the vinegar, but after tasting the finished product I was a believer.

I also made these dumplings from Epicurious, which are essentially pierogis without the work. They were very good with a bit of spicy brown mustard to dip them in, and are certainly easy compared to pierogis, with no dough to roll out and cut. I actually preferred the taste of these to my one attempt at real pierogis.

In other news, today I discovered smoked herring, aka kippers. Trader Joe's sells tinned fillets packed in oil for $1.99, and I adventurously picked some up while I was there yesterday (forgetting, as usual, several TJ's freezer staples I needed). I briefly researched whether I'd need to pick out any bones (no), de-skin the fillets (no), or rinse before using (conflicting reports---I did). Then I experimented rather uncreatively on the tuna salad theme for lunch: to the shredded fish I added a dab of mayo, whole grain mustard, lemon juice, and parsley. I broiled it briefly on buttered toast and it was delicious. Smoked herring will definitely be a new pantry staple.