I am off to the middle of Italy soon. There is no escaping cooking meat in Umbria. It’s just too good. They have pork and beef delicious enough to convert respectable vegetarians. The classic is Arista, which means the best. Buy three pounds of pork loin, flatten it out, and spread it with a mix of four cloves of thinly sliced garlic, half of a cup of chopped fennel, a few chopped sage leaves, parsley, and very finely chopped rosemary leaves, seasoned with a little salt. Leave a border all the way around, and tie the whole thing up. Season the outside with salt, and sear it in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven. Spill a little white wine over the top, and roast in a slow oven at 325 degrees. Every fifteen minutes or so, baste the loin, without moving it. After about an hour, pour about a quarter cup of milk into the pan. Cook until the meat is done, or 155 degrees in the center. Let it rest for at least fifteen minutes. Slice, and serve with pan juices.
I like this served with oven roasted tomatoes stuffed with risotto, (just scoop out the tomato, mix arborio rice with a little fresh basil, parsely, olive oil salt, and juices from the tomato, and a little stock. Set them all in a a baking pan, and cover tightly with foil. Roast for about half an hour, checking to see if they need more (hot) liquid. Spoon hot water or stock onto the rice every once in while until the tomatoes are soft and getting golden, and the rice is fully cooked. Take the foil off for the last ten minutes.