I get my pork locally from my friend Noemi who raises them. This roast is what I have left from a half pig we shared last fall. I’m not a butcher but from what I can gather this cut is a boneless shoulder or blade roast. The boneless cut from what we know as country style ribs. The label that the processor put on read Pork Loin Roast. But I don’t think it’s the loin. Anyway, this is some of the adventures of cooking. This cut has a layer of fat on one side that I’m not going to trim away but let it cook down and flavor the rest of the roast. One thing about Noemi’s pork is, they are all organically raised heritage pigs and taste nothing like the “other white meat” that passes as pork from commercial farms. This pork is darker and much more flavorful. To add some sweetness I added cut up dried fruit that works very well. You can also use a cut up sweet apple if you like.

• 2-3 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, and marjoram)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 1/4 cup dried fruit, diced (pineapple, apricot, papaya, etc.)
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1/2 water
• 1-2 potatoes, peeled and sliced
• Salt & black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Lay the pork roast on a cutting board and score the fat side diagonally in two opposite directions so you form a diamond pattern. Don’t cut all the way through the fat but only half way. Pat the meat dry on both sides with a paper towel.

Rub the olive oil over both sides of the pork. Now rub your Italian seasoning and salt and pepper on both sides of the meat.

In a roasting pan place the sliced onion, dried fruit, garlic and potatoes across the bottom of the pan. Add the Red wine vinegar, white wine, water drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and mix it all well. Put the roast, fat side up, in the middle of the pan on top of the onions, spreading the potatoes around the roast.

Place the roast, uncovered in the oven and let roast for 2 hours. Stir the potatoes and onions halfway through the time. Check the roast and add some water if it dries out. The last half hour turn the oven temperature up to 375 to nicely brown everything.

Allow the roast to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the potatoes and onion and pan drippings.