Roast Pork With Cheese and Cured Ham

Belgophile's Note:

From Ruth Van Waerebeek's "Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook." Ruth describes this as a "lavish-to-look-at-but-easy-to-prepare feast for your most festive dinner party. The presentation is spectacular." I can vouch for that: when I put in on the table recently, everyone oooh'ed and aaaah'ed. And the next day, I got an email from my friend: "Out of the blue today Bill says to me, 'Boy, that roast was really good last night,' I can't remember the last time he remarked on a roast the next day!"

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 0 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 (3 -4 lb) center-cut boneless pork loin roast
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 carrots , peeled and cut crosswise into 4 pieces
• 1 medium onion , sliced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup water , plus additional
• 8 -10 slices gruyere cheese (1/4 inch thick slices)
• 8 -10 slices ham , thin slices (Jambon d'Ardennes or prosciutto di Parma)
• ½ cup port wine
• ¼ cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoons finced minced fresh parsley , for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Rub the butter evenly over the roast a place it in a flameproof roasting pan. Drizzle with the oil.
3. Place the meat in the hot oven and brown, turning it once or twice to brown it on all sides, about 15 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to 350°F Season the roast with salt and pepper. Arrange the carrots, onion, thyme and bay leaf around the meat. Pour the water into the pan.
5. Roast the meat until the internal temperature registers 150 to 155°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Baste the roast every 15 minutes with the drippings in the pan, adding more water if necessary to keep the vegetables from burning.
6. Remove the roast from the oven and place the meat on a platter or cutting board. Don't turn off the oven yet. Use a small, sharp knife to make 8 to 10 incisions or pockets, cutting across the roast but not all the way through. These pockets should be 1/2 inch apart and large enough to hold a slice of cheese and a slice of ham. Tuck a slice of ham and a slice of cheese into each pocket. Let some of the cheese stick out by about 1/2 inch so it can melt over the top of the meat and provide a delicious cheesy crust. Return the roast to the pan.
7. Roast the meat until the cheese is melted and browned on top, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the roast to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
8. Meanwhile, place the roasting pan on top of the stove over high heat. Deglaze the pan with the port and beef broth, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and pout the sauce through a strainer into a bowl or degreasing cup. Press on the vegetables with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the vegetables. Degrease the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning and pout into a sauceboat.
9. Cut the meat, slicing in between the pockets of ham and cheese so that each person gets a slice of meat containing one of these pockets. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.