Pigging Out on Peaches

This year’s farmers’ markets feature, in addition to fresh produce, locally-raised meat and eggs from three suppliers. It’s not cheap. For instance eggs cost $2.50 to $3.00 a dozen compared to 99 cents at the supermarket. Whole chickens run about $4.00/lb, and pork loin is around $6.00/lb. At these prices I can’t afford to make these items a regular part of my diet. Nevertheless, I’ve been trying them and the quality and flavor reminds me of the eggs and meat I grew up on.

I bought a pork loin last week with plans to stuff it, but not quite sure what I wanted to do beyond that. However, as soon as I read the Paper Chef ingredients the recipe became obvious. The added constraint of trying to use local ingredients was a piece of cake.

Pork has a particular affinity for fruit and in the South peaches are often paired with pork. I decided on a stuffing of sausage and peaches scented with lavender.* That takes care of the peaches, edible flowers, and local ingredient(s). The dried chilies were also easy. A peach gastrique with a bit of heat struck me as a perfect sauce for the pork — in particular, the smoky heat of chipotles seemed ideal.

Stuffed Pork Loin with Peach Gastrique

****Loin****
2 lb pork loin roast**
3 ea patties country sausage — crumbled, cooked, and drained**
1/2 ea small peach — peeled, pitted, and diced**
3 tbsp Cognac
1/4 c diced red onion
1/3 c fresh bread crumbs**
3 tbsp butter — melted**
1 tbsp minced fresh lavender**
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
****Gastrique****
2 1/2 ea peaches — peeled & pitted**
2 – 3 tbsp sugar — depending on sweetness of fruit
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp Cognac
1/2 tsp ground chipotle
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp butter

Heat oven to 350F.

Saute diced onion in one tablespoon butter until translucent.

In a small bowl mix sausage, onion, bread crumbs, sage, salt, and pepper. Melt remaining butter and drizzle over stuffing mixture along with Cognac.

Pat roast dry. Insert a carving knife from end to end of roast cutting a slot. Re-insert carving knife perpendicular to first cut to form an X extending through roast. Fill roast with stuffing (a wooden spoon helps pack it in). Liberally season roast with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in an oven-proof skillet and brown roast on all sides. Place skillet with roast in middle of oven and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 145F at center. Remove from oven and allow to rest.

While roast cooks, slice 1/2 peach into thin wedges and reserve. Chop remaining peaches and simmer in a sauce pan with other gastrique ingredients for 15 minutes. Process until smooth in a blender or food processor.

Serve roast, garnished with peach slices and flowers drizzled with gastrique. Serves six.

The pork was delicious. Tender, juicy, and full of flavor. I haven’t had pork that good in ages — well worth the expense. However, the gastrique was phenomenal. The sweet, fruity peach base was well-complemented by the fruity astringency of the sherry vinegar. Best of all, the ground chipotle provided exactly the elements of heat and smokiness I’d hoped for.

* Unfortunately I couldn’t find any edible blossoms, so I settled for lavender leaves.
**Local ingredients.

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