Simply Living and Loving Each Day

Braised Pork Loin with Dried Fruit and Coffee Sauce 
I tried out this new recipe tonight for dinner. Scot and I both thought it was good. I had my doubts about the Coffee sauce but it actually tasted great with the Pork. I found this recipe in Yankee magazine in an article all about coffee

Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes; active time: 30 minutes


1 tablespoon cumin seed (lightly toasted in a skillet, optional)
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed or powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 3-pound pork loin, trimmed of excess fat (leave 1/2-inch-thick layer on top)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chicken stock, plus more as needed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped medium
2 cups dark-roast coffee
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped dried prunes and apricots
Preheat oven to 325°. Place the spices, brown sugar, and salt in a coffee or spice grinder; grind until fine. Pour onto a plate. Wash the pork loin and pat dry. Roll loin in the spices until evenly coated.

Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over a moderately high flame. Brown the pork loin on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove pork and deglaze with 1 cup chicken stock, stirring up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add garlic and onion and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add carrots and cook 5 minutes longer. Add pork and place skillet in oven.

Cook pork until it reaches an internal temperature of about 155°, about 1 hour. Periodically baste with the pan juices. If the liquid gets low, add a little more chicken stock. Transfer the pork and vegetables to another plate. Place skillet back on high heat and add coffee and dried fruit to the pork juices. Reduce the sauce to about half. Slice the pork and serve with sauce and dried fruit.

Yield: 6 servings