Chef Graziella
Arista alla Fiorentina
The roast pork of Florence: bone-in loin studded with rosemary and garlic, nothing more. This is the dish that earned its name from a Byzantine bishop who declared it aristos, the best.
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Lonza al Forno con Patate
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The Sunday roast of central Italy, where a pork loin bronzes in a hot oven while potatoes beneath it drink up every drop of rendered fat and wine. This is family cooking at its most honest.
Main Dishes
Italian
Weeknight
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•1 hr 50 min total
Yield6 servings
In Emilia-Romagna, we cure pork into prosciutto and mortadella. In Umbria, we roast it whole with wild fennel. In Rome, we braise it in milk until the sauce breaks into sweet curds. But across all of central Italy, the Sunday roast remains the same: a good piece of pork, some potatoes, rosemary, garlic, white wine, and a hot oven. That is all.
The genius of this dish is the potatoes. They roast beneath the meat, catching every drop of rendered fat and wine-scented juices. By the time the pork is done, those potatoes have become something extraordinary: crisp at the edges, creamy within, saturated with flavor you cannot achieve any other way. The meat is almost secondary. Almost.
This is not restaurant food. No chef would serve it because there is nothing to show off, no technique to impress. It is the cooking of home, of Sunday, of the grandmother who started it before church and let it finish while the family gathered. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in.
Arrosto di maiale con patate appears in Italian household cookbooks dating to the late 19th century, though the practice of roasting pork over potatoes predates written recipes by centuries. The dish represents the cucina povera tradition of central Italy, where nothing was wasted and the drippings from meat were considered as valuable as the meat itself.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
boneless pork loin roast
Quantity
3 pounds
tied
Yukon Gold potatoes
Quantity
2 pounds
peeled and cut into 1-inch wedges
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
4 tablespoons, divided
garlic cloves
Quantity
4
peeled and lightly crushed
fresh rosemary
Quantity
4 sprigs
dry white wine
Quantity
1 cup
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| boneless pork loin roasttied | 3 pounds |
| Yukon Gold potatoespeeled and cut into 1-inch wedges | 2 pounds |
| extra virgin olive oil | 4 tablespoons, divided |
| garlic clovespeeled and lightly crushed | 4 |
| fresh rosemary | 4 sprigs |
| dry white wine | 1 cup |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Large roasting pan (at least 9x13 inches)
- •Roasting rack (optional but helpful)
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Kitchen twine if roast is not tied
Instructions
- 1
Temper the meat
Remove the pork loin from the refrigerator one hour before cooking. Cold meat roasts unevenly, the exterior overcooking before the center reaches temperature. Season the pork generously on all sides with salt and pepper. The salt needs time to penetrate.
If your butcher has not tied the roast, do it yourself with kitchen twine at two-inch intervals. This creates even cooking and a compact shape that carves beautifully. - 2
Prepare the potatoes
Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, toss the potato wedges with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, half the crushed garlic cloves, two sprigs of rosemary, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. The potatoes must be coated completely.
- 3
Arrange the roasting pan
Spread the seasoned potatoes in an even layer in a large roasting pan or heavy baking dish. They should not overlap significantly. Place a roasting rack over the potatoes, or if you have none, create space by pushing potatoes to the edges. The pork will rest above the potatoes, allowing drippings to fall.
If you have no rack, you may place the pork directly on the potatoes. Push them aside to create a nest. The potatoes touching the meat will be softer; the exposed ones will crisp. Both are good. - 4
Season the pork
Rub the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the pork loin. Press the remaining crushed garlic and rosemary sprigs onto the top of the roast. Place the pork on the rack above the potatoes, or settle it into the potato bed.
- 5
Begin roasting
Place the pan in the hot oven. Roast for 20 minutes at 425°F. The high heat begins browning the exterior. After 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- 6
Add the wine
Pour the white wine into the bottom of the pan, over the potatoes. The wine will sizzle and steam. This is correct. The wine mingles with the drippings and seasons the potatoes as they finish cooking. Continue roasting.
- 7
Roast until done
Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork reads 140°F, approximately 50 to 60 minutes more after adding the wine. The total roasting time is about 1 hour and 15 minutes, but trust the thermometer, not the clock. The exterior should be golden brown. The potatoes should be tender when pierced and golden at the edges.
Modern pork can be safely eaten at 145°F. Remove the roast at 140°F because the temperature will rise as it rests. Pink pork is not underdone pork. It is properly cooked pork. - 8
Rest the meat
Transfer the pork to a cutting board and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Do not skip this. The juices must redistribute or they will flood your cutting board instead of staying in the meat. Leave the potatoes in the turned-off oven with the door ajar to stay warm.
- 9
Carve and serve
Remove the twine from the roast. Slice the pork into half-inch rounds. Arrange the slices on a warm platter, surrounded by the potatoes. Pour any accumulated juices from the cutting board over the meat. The potatoes need no sauce. They have been cooking in it for over an hour.
Chef Tips
- •Ask your butcher for a center-cut pork loin, which has the most even thickness and will cook uniformly. Avoid the tapered end pieces.
- •The potatoes must be cut to uniform size or they will cook unevenly. One-inch wedges are ideal: large enough to stay intact, small enough to absorb the drippings.
- •Do not open the oven door repeatedly to check progress. Every opening drops the temperature and extends cooking time. Check once when you add the wine, once near the end.
- •If your potatoes are browning too quickly before the pork is done, cover the pan loosely with foil for the remaining cooking time. Remove it for the last 10 minutes to recrisp.
Advance Preparation
- •The pork can be seasoned with salt and pepper up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated uncovered. The dry surface produces better browning. Bring to room temperature before roasting.
- •This dish does not reheat well. The pork dries and the potatoes lose their texture. Plan to serve it the day you make it.
- •Leftover sliced pork makes excellent sandwiches the next day, served cold on crusty bread with mustard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 300g)
Calories
530 calories
Total Fat
21 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
136 mg
Sodium
650 mg
Total Carbohydrates
28 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
51 g
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