Roast Pork With Sage Leaves and Vinegar

Ingredients

• 1 2-pound boneless loin of pork, rolled and tied
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup fresh sage leaves
• Sprigs of sage
• Slices of lemon

8 servings

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a heavy dutch oven or enameled casserole just large enough for the pork, brown the meat in the oil on all sides. Remove it from the casserole and season it with salt and pepper.
2. Add the vinegar, scraping up the cooking juices, and the sage, reserving a few leaves to go on top of the pork. Return the pork to the casserole and sprinkle the remaining leaves on top of it. Cover and bake, basting from time to time, for about two and a half hours, or until the temperature on a meat thermometer registers 155 degrees, which is high enough to kill any trichinosis bacteria. Do not overcook the pork or it will be dry and tough.
3. Let the pork cool in its cooking juices. Put the meat on a platter and pour the juices into a small container and put it in a freezer. When the fat on top has congealed, lift it off. The juices can now be heated up as a gravy or swirled into the plum sauce below. To serve the pork, slice it thin and arrange it on a serving platter. Decorate it with sprigs of sage and slices of lemon.