Roasted Pork with Ginger and Honey

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs pork filet

  • 8 oz pancetta (cured and smoked pork belly)

  • 1 shallot per pound of pork (3 shallots in this case)

  • 3 cloves of garlic

  • Thumb-sized piece of ginger (per pound of pork, so 3 thumbs)

  • Rosemary (1 sprig per pound of pork)

  • Thyme (1 clump per pound of pork)

  • 5-6 tablespoons of honey

  • 1 butternut squash

  • 2 cups of stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable)

  • Salt (to taste)

  • Fresh ground pepper (to taste)

  • Vito and Joe’s Extra Virgin Olive oil (about 3 tablespoons)

  • Cast iron pan or Dutch oven with a lid

How to Prepare

  1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron pan.

  2. Add pancetta (pancetta fat will flavor the oil). Brown it and remove from the pan.

  3. Season pork with salt (1.5 tablespoons), then sear all sides in the flavored oil.

  4. While searing pork, prepare the vegetables: chop shallots, garlic, ginger, butternut squash, and herbs.

  5. Once pork is seared, remove it from the pan, add chicken stock, honey, pancetta, rosemary, garlic, ginger, shallots, butternut squash, thyme, and black pepper to the pan.

  6. Cover and let it cook for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

  7. After 45 minutes, remove most of the vegetables and let the meat cook for another 45 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.

  8. Slice the pork and serve with the reduced sauce over the top.