Rack of Pork Stuffed with Apples and Dried Plums

Stuffing

2 Tablespoons butter

2 apples, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup dried plums

1 small shallot, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced celery

1 bay leaf

Fresh thyme leaves, or 1/8 teaspoon dried

2 Tablespoons fruit vinegar-cider or raspberry
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute everything except the vinegar in the butter until soft, but not browned.

Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, taste for seasoning, remove the bay leaf, and let the stuffing cool.

Prepare the pork rack and vegetables

You need a pork rack with the chine bone removed and the ribs frenched.

Brine the roast for 2 hours in 2 quarts of water with one cup of salt

Butterfly the loin without detaching the ribs, and lightly pound out the surface until it is flat and even.

Salt and pepper the surfae of the pork and sprinkle with some cognac or wine.

Spread the stuffing over the surface, and roll up the pork jelly-roll style, truss with string.

Place the pork on a roasting rack and roast in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1/2 hour.

Blanch the vegetables (I used turnips, potatoes, carrots, acorn squash, and onions-onions do not need to be blanched) until tender-crisp. Drain and hold until the pork has roasted for 1/2 hour.

Add blanched vegetables to the roasting pan, toss to coat them in the pork drippings, and place the pork rack directly on the vegetables, discarding the roasting rack, to finish roasting. Place everything back in the oven for about 1 hour, until the internal temperature of the pork registers 140 to145 degrees-Most safety guideline stipulate 150 degree, but that is too done for me. Let the roast rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.