Tamarind Roasted Pork Loin with Mint

The SEasOning

A few years ago my wife and I were lucky enough to spend a few weeks in Colombia. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen in love with a country quite like that one. The people, places and the food were simply spectacular. I can’t stop talking about the trip. I regularly dream of all the fresh fruit, the empanadas and arepas that you’d find everywhere! There were so many regional variations of those “standards” as well as totally unique dishes and flavour profiles.

J.Kenji Lopez-Alt on one of his social media channels was talking about his love of Colombian food. He referenced a new cookbook by Mariana Velasquez, Colombiana, which he called the best English language cook book about Colombian food. Based on his recommendation and the description on Amazon, I purchased this book without hesitating.

The first thing I noticed about this cookbook was how visually stunning it is. I believe Mariana Velasquez is a food stylist by trade and it shows. This is as much a stunning visual feast of Colombian food as it is a cookbook. The structure of the book is also intriguing: it is told through setting a Colombian table and sharing her sense of what it means to be invited into a Colombian home to share a meal. The “A La Mesa” section of the book is also incredible. Mariana gives you full menus to serve. A signature cocktail, a starter, a main + sides and a desert. She even includes a recommended playlist!

I decided to try something “easy” to start with: Lomito de credo al Tamarindo y menta (Tamarind braised pork long with mint). This turned out to be one of the best pork dishes I’ve ever made! I ended up making two changes to this recipe. I couldn’t get pork loin, so I used a pork shoulder and I had some beautiful Hungarian peppers so I sliced a few and added them in.

The Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs center cut pork loin (I couldn’t get pork loin, so I used pork shoulder instead)
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1/3 cup seedless tamarind paste
• 2 small red onions quartered through the root end
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or panela (I used Demarara brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp fresh horseradish
• 1/2 cup chopped mint

The Method

1. Preheat your oven to 325F
2. Take your pork out of the fridge and let it warm for for at least 15min. Season heavily with salt and pepper while it warms up.
   1. Note: It’s important that you salt your pork at this point. While it’s resting the salt is going to pull out protien rich juices out from the meat. When we get to searing this, those juices are going form a delicious, crispy brown crust on the meat
3. Heat your oil over medium high heat in a cast iron skillet or other heavy bottom pan and sear the pork on all sides. This should take 15-20 min. You’re looking to get a good crust on the pork and develop some fond in the pans.
4. Once brown, remove the pork and let it rest on a plate. Lower the heat to medium and deglaze with the rum – have a lid nearby. Rum is flammable. If it catches on fire just slap the lid on and wait 15 seconds or so. Afterwards, make sure to scrape up any brown bit on the bottom of the pan. A wooden spoon is best for this.
5. It’ll only take 30-45 seconds to cook off the alcohol in the rum. Once that happens add your tamarind paste, onions, chicken broth and sugar. Stir to combine and then add your pork back with any of its accumulated juices.
6. Transfer pan to your preheated oven and let cook for 40-50 minutes. You’re looking for an internal temperate of 145F
7. Once you’ve hit 145F remove the pork from pan and tent with foil. Let it rest for 15 minutes. While resting stir in the horseradish and mint into the roasting liquid left in the pan. Adjust your seasoning with salt and black pepper.
8. To serve, slide the pork into medallions and spoon the sauce and onions over top.