Giulia serves up her stunning Florentine-style roast pork recipe, just in time for Christmas. The pork is served with sweet baked apples, and is flavoured with fennel seed for a wonderfully aromatic finish.
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Arista, the roasted pork sirloin, is a common cut usually served during Sunday lunches and it is a traditional dish of the Florentine cuisine. Make it more festive cooking it with apples and fennel seeds.
Using a sharp knife, carefully remove the bones from the pork loin but do not discard them
2
Crush the fennel seeds with the black pepper and salt and massage the rub into the meat. Place the loin back onto the bones and tie it up with butcher's string. Wrap in cling film and leave to sit in the fridge overnight
3
About 40 minutes before you are ready to cook, remove the meat from the fridge to bring it back to room temperature
4
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
5
Place the meat in a deep pan and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Cook the meat in the oven for about 40 minutes. When it is crisp and golden, pour over the white wine and arrange the apples all around the pork. Season the apples with salt and pepper
6
Increase the oven temperature to 200°C/gas mark 6 and cook the pork loin for 40 more minutes, checking it once in a while to baste with the pan juices. If the meat browns too quickly, cover it with some aluminium foil
7
Remove the pork loin from the oven, wrap in foil and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve it with the baked apples and drizzled with the pan juices
Giulia is a Tuscan food blogger who has turned her passion into a job and is now a freelance food writer, developing recipes for magazines and food companies.
