Roast Pork With Sage and Potatoes

From How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman, c. 1998. Author's Note: "An authentic recipe from Naples, this is my absolute favortie. It's best with firm, waxy potatoes; if they're small enough, keep them whole."

• Ready In: 2 hrs 10 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 1 roast w/ potatoes

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  minced garlic
• 1  tablespoon  minced frsh sage leaves or 2  teaspoons dried sage
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2  lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2  tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
• 3 -4  lbs  pork loin roast, bone-in or 2 -3  lbs boneless pork roast or 2 -3  lbs  fresh ham

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425*. Mix together the garlic, sage, salt and pepper. Put the potatoes in a roasting pan that is also large enough to hold the pork, and toss them with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and about 1 teaspoon of the garlic-sage mixture. Place the roasting pan in the oven while you prepare the pork.
2. Using a thin-bladed knife and your fingers, make slits all over the pork and insert most of the remaining garlic-sage mixture. Spread the rest of it all over the outside of the roast, and nestle it among the potatoes. Pour a little more olive oil over the meat and place it in the oven.
3. Roast, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven, stir the potatoes (you will probably have to scrape some of them off the bottom of the pan), and bast the pork with a little of the pan juices. Lower the heat to 325*F and continue to cook, stirring the potatoes every 15 minutes or so. After 1-1/4 hours or so total cooking time, begin to check the meat (it's likely to take longer, but it's worth the checking); when an instant-read thermometer registers 145* to 150*, remove the meat to a warm platter.
4. While the meat rests for 10-15 minutes, turn the oven heat up to 450* to make sure the potatoes are done and crisp (use your judgement; you can simply run them under the broiler if they just need a bit of browning, or keep the oven at 325* if they're perfectly done). Carve the meat and serve with the potatoes.