Roast pork with milk

Happy New Year! One of the lovely gifts I received this Christmas was Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook from my husband. In looking through the book, both of us spotted this recipe as looking particularly delicious, so we thought that trying it on New Year's Eve would be a wonderful way to end of the year.

Recipe

from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles CookbookServes 63 lb boneless pork loin roastsalt and pepper2 tbsp olive oil1 tbsp butter1 medium onion, chopped1 carrot, finely chopped1 leek, white part only, finely chopped1 garlic clove, finely chopped1 tbsp flour2 cups whole milk1 bouquet garniSeason the pork with sat and pepper. Heat oil to a Dutch oven and then add butter. Brown the pork on all sides and then remove from pan and set aside. Add in onion, carrot, leek and garlic to the pan and stir over high heat until caramelized for about 10 minutes. Add in flour and stir constantly, about 2 minutes, then add in milk and the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes and add the pork and any juices back to the pan. Cover and reduce heat and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, periodically rotating the pork. Remove from the pan and let rest of 15 minutes.For the sauce, remove the bouquet garni and strain the liquid. Bring to a boil. Using a hand blender, purée the liquid and season as needed. Carve the pork and serve with the sauce over.

Musing

A few notes on preparation: Instead of oil, David browned the pork in goose fat.Absolutely delicious! The pork was tender, juicy and flavourful. The browned bits were delightful, helped I imagine in no small part by the goose fat it was browned in. The gravy was also divine--round and complex and had us reaching for more. Definitely a keeper! Well done, Monsieur Bourdain!