Pork Loin with Roasted Shallots and Pears

Thanks to my co-worker Ruth for this tasty new recipe! It is time-consuming to prepare, but it blends a lot of fall flavors very nicely. Please note that this makes eight ENORMOUS servings. What you see pictured above is about HALF a serving, and it was plenty for me with mashed potatoes and a salad. I also halved the recipe and used a 1.5 lb. pork tenderloin (which I trimmed) instead of a 3 lb. pork loin. Then I just halved all of the other ingredients.

PORK LOIN WITH ROASTED SHALLOTS & PEARS

Recipe Notes

I was having a hard time getting the gravy to thicken, so I added about an extra tbsp. of flour to help thicken it up.

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 8)

470 calories - 17 g. fat - 54 g. protein - 3 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 3-4 lb. pork loin roast
• 12 oz. shallots, peeled and halved or quartered (about 2 cups)
• 3 medium unpeeled pears, cut into wedges
• 3/4 tsp. salt, divided
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• Fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 4 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 or 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• Coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large zip-top plastic bag, combine 2 tbsp. olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, and pork loin. Seal bag and coat pork loin evenly with marinade. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

3. In a roasting pan, toss shallots and pears with remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt.

4. Remove meat from marinade and reserve marinade in plastic bag. Place pork in the center of the roasting pan, surrounded by pears and shallots.

5. Cut several small slits in top of pork. Insert sliced garlic and thyme sprigs.

6. Roast pork for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue roasting until desired degree of doneness, approximately 35-40 minutes more.

7. While meat roasts, melt butter and whisk in flour (this is where I added some extra flour for thickening). Add chicken broth and reserved marinade. Whisk to break up lumps and cook until thickened, 10-15 minutes. Stir in thyme and additional salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm.

8. Remove pork from oven. Let stand 5 minutes, covered with foil, before slicing. Slice pork and serve with shallots, pears, and gravy.