Roasted Pork Loin

​This dish was originally Ina Garten’s Herb Marinated Loin of Pork from her book Back to Basics, but the tweaks we have done to the original recipe have completely changed the dish and it is now a whole new animal.
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The original actually called for it to be grilled on charcoal fire. We are lazy so we prefer oven roasting instead of charcoal grilling.  Also we found the charcoal grilled version drier, and we believe with conviction that oven roasting is the better decision for this dish.

Another thing we changed from the Ina Garten version is that the original recipe discarded the marinade before cooking and you will just brush the meat with some olive oil while grilling. Being from the third world, it was horrifying to even think of discarding expensive ingredients like olive oil and lemon juice.  We refused to even consider it, so our version cooks the meat in its olive oil and lemon marinade.  That change in the recipe, in our opinion, creates the most delightful sauce for the dish. It is simply no good without the sauce at this point.

The third change is with the herbs and condiments used. The original recipe calls for rosemary and thyme and then Dijon mustard. I followed these instructions in the beginning but was told the meat tasted like bitter old tea and the Dijon made it smell like my father’s socks. So being as everybody hated the herbs and condiment used, I opted for something safer in my later versions of the dish.  Oregano always wins in my household so oregano became the staple herb for our pork loin, changing it back to rosemary and thyme would result in mutiny I believe. I also ditched the Dijon mustard and used soy sauce for flavoring, it is just a couple of tablespoons, hardly enough to change the color of the dish or its overall flavor but the family approves – no more old socks in the dish according to the critics.

These are the pages to the original Ina Garten recipe. It even looks totally different from the recipe,
​so let’s just say this is the “inspiration” for our own Roast Pork Loin recipe. 

​Now this dish calls for expensive ingredients I know, pork loin/lomo itself is an expensive cut and good olive oil is an investment really, so this isn’t exactly everyday fare but it has become a family favorite because it is easy to make. Like “you can make it in your sleep” easy. It’s just preparing the marinade, soak the meat in it and then cook it in the oven, and viola! Roast pork loin! Sabi nga ni Lola mo Ina Garten, “how easy is that?”

Lastly, I must mention that this dish really has come into itself because the marinade/sauce is to die for, BUT it must also be said that the dish will not be complete without the accompanying veggie.  And this veggie is roasted asparagus. I know, I know, another horribly expensive ingredient but there is nothing like roasted asparagus and life is too short so just enjoy the asparagus while you can. Of course, since fresh asparagus is hard to come by, we have also made do with the white asparagus in cans. My kid says its is a good enough alternative. We have also used roasted broccoli when we got tired of white asparagus.
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So there, all instructions and opinions on hand, please do try this dish. I am sure you will probably concoct your own version and add your own tweaks at some point -- do tell us what you ended up with. I enjoy knowing how dishes change with every family that it meets. 

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Ingredients

• 1.5 to 2kg of pork loin or lomo cut (this should be around 3 to 4 pcs lomo/loin depending on how many you will be serving)
• Grated zest of 1-2 lemons
• ¼ to ½ cup of lemon juice
• 1 whole 250-300 ml of olive oil
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 2 whole garlic finely minced
• 2-3 tbs of dried oregano
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbs of soy sauce
• Salt to taste

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Procedure:
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1. Clean and pat dry the loin of pork.
2. Prepare the marinade by mixing in all other ingredients – chopped garlic and onions, grated zest, olive oil, oregano, lemon juice, soy sauce, salt, black pepper. Make sure the marinade is not bland. Taste it before mixing in the raw meat to be sure that it will be good when roasted.
3. When all marinade ingredients are mixed in then add the loin of pork, make sure to massage the meat with the marinade.
4. Marinade overnight or a minimum of 2 hours before cooking.
5. Roast the pork loin in the oven for 1 hour on full, that is 250 degrees Celsius on our small oven. Turn the loin at half time (30 minutes) to make sure all sides are well cooked.

This version of our Roast Pork Loin uses roasted white asparagus for its side veggie. We usually just roast the white asparagus along with the pork so to be more accurate, this version should instead be called Roast pork loin with white asparagus. 

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 This is what the marinade looks like in its raw form. Just massage the meat in the marinade for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight and it is good for roasting in the oven.

Another version of our Roast Pork Loin has a few pieces bay leaves added to the recipe, 
​so if you like the aroma of bay leaves do add that onto your marinade.

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Pasta ala Soju

This is our version of the more popular Pasta ala vodka that you find on instagram or youtube.  We used soju instead of vodka because it is more affordable and the substitution does not affect the flavour or quality of the resulting sauce.  It still achieves the same effect as vodka, since the needed alcoholic properties are essentially the same.
Now, the principle behind using hard liquor (soju/vodka) in this dish is that the components of the soju as an alcoholic beverage serves to highlight the flavour of tomato or tomato sauce/paste.  It helps make it more tomato-ey apparently. Thus making your sauce more flavourful. 
We haven’t made our own culinary experiments to be able to substantiate these claims though. And really, it doesn’t matter. Pasta ala soju sounds so unique and the sauce is to die for. So just try it. Introducing this simple dish to your friends on pasta night would surely impress. Serve this with good garlic bread, a hearty salad on the side, red wine and you’re good to go.
 
Instructions and ingredients:

• Heat ¼ cup of olive oil in a saucepan. Add a small clove of diced garlic and ¼ of a red onion, chopped. Cook until soft.
• Add ¼ cup of tomato paste and cook until darker and slightly caramelized.
• Add 1 tbsp of Soju (original or plain soju only) and stir until evaporated, when you can no longer smell the alcohol.
• Stir in ½ cup heavy cream and 1 tsp chili flakes (more if you like it hotter).
• Stir until combined. Add in salt and pepper, then remove from heat.
• Cook about 2 cups of pasta in salted water in a separate pot using package instructions. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water.
• Drain pasta and transfer to sauce, stirring to coat. Add in ¼ cup of reserved pasta water and 1 tbsp butter.
• Stir in ¼ cup parmesan cheese.
• Top with even more cheese and chopped basil.

 

Seafood with

Lemon Garlic

​ Butter Sauce

This crowd pleasing dish was originally just plain Lemon Butter Shrimp and you can cook it with just shrimp or basically any other seafood you prefer. The process is simple enough but for special occasions we like to amp it up by mixing in shrimps and mussels and crabs (or mud crab claws). It’s a bright and colourful dish that will remind you of summers past or your fantasy seaside vacations at the beach.

​You can serve it to your VIP guests at your home and that is usually when we cook this dish, when it’s a special day.  But lately, we have learned to just cook it up for an indulgent weekend with the family – just us pigging out on this delectable dish with no worries about messy tables, dribbling chins, and oily lips full of garlicky sauce.  A day like that, when you cook up this decadent dish just for yourself -- no sharing or serving others – is the best kind of day to cook and eat seafood with lemon butter sauce. Go ahead and indulge yourself. It will be unforgettable.
 
INGREDIENTS:
1 Kilo of shrimp, swahe or sugpo (depending on your preference)
1 kilo or half kilo of green mussels
1 kilo crabs or mud crab claws
10 to 20 cloves of garlic (yes it’s a lot! Garlic is in the name of the dish after all. Also garlic nowadays tend to be more bland than our smaller organic garlic, so it really does need more)
1 big lemon for the lemon zest/rind and the lemon juice (if you have extra lemons, you will need to cut slices for finishing the dish. It adds a nice visual touch and makes sure to remind people there is lemon in the dish)
1 to 2 packs of butter. You will be able to cook this well on just one pack of butter but two packs is just perfectly unctuous no? And perfectly perfect for this decadent dish.
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (use this for the initial sauté of the butter and garlic. This also prevents the butter from burning during the sauté).
Salt and pepper to taste
 
PROCEDURE:

• Clean seafood thoroughly.  De-vein the shrimp, brush the crabs and mussels. De-beard the mussels.  Just make sure it is all clean as this dish cooks really fast and improperly prepared seafood would just ruin everything.
• Cook and half shell the mussels ahead of time. Set aside any natural mussel juice so you can add it to your sauce later on. Just make sure you are careful with measuring the mussel juice as it is naturally salty! You might end up over salting the sauce with too much mussel juice.
• You can also steam your crabs ahead of time, especially if you are using big mud crabs with thick shells. Pre cooking the crab will make sure it does not undercook during the sautéing process (as sautéing shrimps in the garlic butter sauce should take just around 5-12minutes tops).
• Crush and finely chop garlic.  We don’t want any big chunks of garlic in the sauce so don’t be lazy and chop it well.
• Use a fine grater or micro plane to get the lemon rind or zest from your lemon. Make sure to get just the yellow skin and none of the white pith underneath as that is bitter and it’ll fuck up your dish.
• After getting your lemon zest, prep your lemon juice.
• When everything is ready, it will be a quick sauté!

1. Using a large frying pan or wok, add the 3tbs olive oil to your pan heated to low medium fire.
2. Then add your tons of chopped garlic to medium low heat. Watch it carefully, do not leave it alone as garlic cooks fast and burns fast as well.
3. When garlic is soft and fragrant add in your first pack of butter.
4. When all that butter is melted, that is when you add your shrimp. Cook for no more than 5-12 minutes (depending on shrimp size). DO NOT OVERCOOK YOUR SHRIMP!
5. When shrimp is halfway done, add in your pre-cooked mussels and crab.
6. At this point, you will say “fuck it!” and decide to add in that other pack of butter.
7. As that butter melts, you will add flavours to taste – salty mussel juice, salt and pepper, magic sarap for firm MSG believers, maybe a bit of sugar? Or a touch of hoisin sauce? A splash of dry white wine? You can add whatever you want to flavour the sauce really. People decide on what subtleties they want to put to the basic sauce and that is just fine, that is what will make this dish YOURS in the end.
8. When all that butter is melted and the flavours added, you splash the dish with your lemon juice. That will be the final touch that will freshen up the whole dish. Remove from fire and serve immediately with fluffy rice or good sturdy bread that will sop up all that wonderful sauce.

• Finishing touches: chopped parsley and round lemon slices on top of the dish. If you have no parsley or extra lemon, never mind then, it doesn’t always need to be instagrammable. Just make sure it tastes good and that you have a great time eating it.