English Roast

While culinary trends come and go, certain traditions are reassuringly steadfast. The Sunday roast, for instance, is a British institution that has outlasted monarchies and dynastic wars and nouvelle cuisine. There are as many variations on the roast as there are Sunday suppers; for a contemporary version, we went to Thane Prince, a London cooking teacher and the food columnist for The Daily Telegraph. She rubs a pork loin with Indian spices, then roasts it along with some root vegetables and serves it with a simple sauce enriched with bacon and red currant jelly. Thanks to an entrée as delicious as this, the tradition of the Sunday roast should outlive us all.

ROASTED SPICED PORK LOIN WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

8 servings

SAUCE
6 bacon slices, cut in half
6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1/2 cup red currant jelly
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cook bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Using tongs, transfer bacon to paper towels. Discard drippings from pan. Add broth, wine, jelly, and rosemary to pan. Boil until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 35 minutes. Return bacon to sauce. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1 1/3 cups, about 10 minutes longer. Strain sauce into small saucepan. Add butter. Whisk over low heat until sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

PORK
A mortar and pestle or even a coffee grinder can be used to grind the spices.
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon black cardamom seeds (from about 30 whole
    green or white cardamom pods)
1 4- to 4 1/4-pound center-cut boneless pork loin (about
    10 inches long and 3 1/2 inches in diameter)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Finely grind first 4 ingredients. Place pork in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Rub oil, then spice mixture all over pork. Cover; refrigerate 4 hours and up to 1 day.

ROASTING
2 1/2 pounds large russet potatoes (about 5), peeled, halved lengthwise, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds large parsnips (about 4), peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces, thick portions halved lengthwise
1 1/2 pounds large carrots (about 4), peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces, thick portions halved lengthwise
8 large shallots, peeled, halved
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
3 large fresh rosemary sprigs
6 tablespoons olive oil
8 medium beets, peeled, cut into 1-inch wedges

		Position racks in center and bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Place potatoes, parsnips, carrots, shallots, garlic, and rosemary in large roasting pan. Drizzle with 5 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on center rack 45 minutes, turning vegetables occasionally.

Place beets in small roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove large roasting pan from oven. Push vegetables to sides of pan, clearing space in center for pork. Place pork in center of pan. Return large roasting pan to center rack. Place pan with beets on bottom rack.

Roast pork with vegetables until vegetables are brown and cooked through and thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 150°F, turning vegetables occasionally, about 1 hour. Roast beets until tender, turning occasionally, about 1 hour. Remove pork and all vegetables from oven and let stand 10 minutes.
Place pork roast in center of large platter; surround with all vegetables. Rewarm sauce over low heat, whisking constantly. Transfer sauce to gravy dish. Serve pork and vegetables with sauce.