This dish has attitude – it uses a lot of balsamic vinegar but, trust me, it works really well! The onions and potatoes are baked in the vinegar, making them crispy, dark, sticky and sweet. I’ve chosen to serve them with roasted pork, but beef or lamb works just as well. I prefer red onions for their color and sweetness.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds medium-sized waxy potatoes (all-purpose), peeled and quartered lengthwise
- Olive oil
- 7 ounces butter, cubed
- 1 bunch fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
- 1 whole bulb garlic, quartered or smashed
- 5 medium red onions, peeled and quartered
- 1 1/2 cups cheap balsamic vinegar
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small bunch fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground fennel seeds
- One 3 1/2-pound boneless rolled pork loin, preferably free-range or organic, skin off, fat scored in a crisscross pattern
- Olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
- 2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 wine glasses white wine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the potatoes into a pan of boiling, salted water and cook for around 8 minutes, then drain and return to the pan. Chuff them up a bit by shaking the pan.
- To prepare the meat, scatter a handful of finely chopped rosemary leaves over a large chopping board. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and the ground fennel seeds. Roll the pork across the board, pressing down hard so all the flavorings stick to it.
- Get a large roasting pan that your pork will fit snugly into, and place it on a burner over a medium-high heat. Pour in a little olive oil and place the pork in, fat side down, sprinkled with any flavorings remaining on the board. After a few minutes, when the pork fat is lightly golden, turn it over and add the garlic cloves, onion, celery and bay leaves to the pan. Place on the bottom shelf of your preheated oven for 1 hour, basting it halfway through. (For the last 20 minutes of cooking, you may need to cover the pork with a bit of damp waxed paper to stop it coloring too much.)
- Get another roasting pan, into which you can fit the potatoes in 1 layer, and heat it on the stove. When hot, pour a glug of olive oil into it and add the butter, rosemary and garlic. Add the potatoes and toss them in all the flavors. Add the onions and all the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes on the burner to reduce the balsamic vinegar a little. Place the pan on the top shelf and cook for around 50 minutes, until the potatoes and onions are dark, sticky and crispy – removing the pan to toss the onions and potatoes halfway through.
- After 1 hour, the meat should be cooked. Prick it with a sharp knife – if the juices run clear, it’s done; if not, pop it back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, keeping the potatoes warm. Remove it from the oven and let it rest on a plate for 10 minutes. Pour away most of the fat from the pan and mash up the garlic and onion. Place the pan over the burner and add the white wine. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, scraping all the meaty, marmitey goodness off the bottom to make a tasty little sauce, and season if necessary. Pass through a sieve into a serving pitcher. Then slice the pork and serve it with your incredible baked onions and potatoes, drizzled with the pan juices. This meal goes great with some nice greens or an arugula salad.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1263 |
| Total Fat | 77 g |
| Saturated Fat | 30 g |
| Carbohydrates | 79 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 11 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Protein | 50 g |
| Cholesterol | 201 mg |
| Sodium | 2032 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1263 |
| Total Fat | 77 g |
| Saturated Fat | 30 g |
| Carbohydrates | 79 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 11 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Protein | 50 g |
| Cholesterol | 201 mg |
| Sodium | 2032 mg |
Reviews
I would say a little less balsamic would be better – it can be a little tart!
I followed this recipe , every step. First….it isn’t easy as it is plugged as. Second…wow…way too much balsamic vinegar is used in this recipe !! The potatoes and onions were very tart….not sweet. The pork was just OK and a tad too done for my liking. There is no way it is a 4 or 5 star recipe. UGH..
I made the recipe using THE Hormel “always tender” Pork TENDERLOIN TIPS and at the same time did the veggies. Page 150 in “Jamie at Home” Book. I used much less of good vinegar, about 2 teaspoons, substituting the rest with good chicken broth. I browned pork tips (without rub) on stove, then roasted it at 400 degrees on convection roasting setting for 22 minutes, not longer. I used my beautiful heavy deep ceramic baking pot for the meat, and, boy, did it turn out super beautiful, juicy, tender and so flavorful ! IT’S HARD TO FIND A RECIPE FOR TENDERLOIN, SO THIS ONE IS A KEEPER !
Thank you, dear Jamie. Way to go !
This is a delicious recipe. I used half the amount of ground fennel which seemed more than enough. The roast did take a bit longer to cook. I used 3 different types of potatoes which worked quite well, I was dubious about the amount of balsamic vinegar but it turned out just fine. It was a big hit.
One of our favorite meals!! So DELICIOUS!!!
PERFECT
My family loves this dish! We often make the potatoes with other main dishes because we enjoy them so much. Rustic and delicious.
This is ABSOLUTELY delicious. The pork turned out SO tender and the potatoes were crispy and flavorful. I am not a big fan of pork and I actually enjoyed this dish A LOT. :”
I followed the recipe to a T but the potatoes were soaked in vinegar and just AWFUL! They never turned crispy and just “sat” in the vinegar and looked an ugly color. We threw them in the pond in our backyard to feed the critters. I can’t help but wonder what I did wrong. Thank goodness we made a side of stuffed zuchinni that complimented the pork. The pork was delicious but we didn’t have many juices. I made the pork in a glass roasting pan so I couldn’t cook the brown drippings in the pan (I shattered a glass pan on top of the stove doing that one time. What kind of pan do you recommend? I used a little white wine and blended all the vegetables and mangaged to get a tasty glaze. What did I do wrong with the potatoes? They were just awful!
The pork was a home run! instead of straining the vegetables/herbs after cooking the pork, we pureed in and made a thicker sauce out of it which we highly recommend. The potatoes were good but we wished they were most crispy. We thought we should have taken the potatoes out 10 minutes earlier, taken away the onions and garlic and whatever liquid we take and puree that as well. Will try that next time. We will definitely make again and are new lovers of pork roasts on a Tuesday night!!!