Pork & Onions
Possibly our favorite family meal, this started as a turkey and carrot recipe I stumbled across in “Italia in Cucina,” Dettore and Gioffre, a fantastic resource. I didn't have the turkey tenderloins specified, but it suggested pork tenderloin and onions as alternatives...and I tried that. As we grew to like it, and invited friends to share it, I kept scaling it up till we were eating a full roasting pan of it, with a foot-long pork loin and 6 big onions...and it's so simple!
1 piece of boneless pork loin (about ½ lb. per person)
6 large sweet onions, thinly sliced (see Cook’s Note)
16 oz. chicken broth (may not use all)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350°. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in large skillet (lately I use either a flat-bottomed wok or a 6-quart braising pan) at medium-high heat. Salt and pepper pork loin on all sides. Sear pork on all sides in hot pan, holding with a fork as needed, including the ends, and place in lidded roasting pan.
Lower heat to medium. Put onions in skillet in batches, turning often and adding oil as needed, until soft; you want them nice and tender, but not brown. Remove to roasting pan and fill in around the pork without covering it. Add more pepper. When all onions are in pan, add broth till it is visible; do not overfill. Place in oven, covered, for 2 hours.
Remove from oven. Scoop out onions with slotted spoon. Remove pork carefully, and slice thickly.
Serve with plenteous mashed potatoes.
Cook’s Note:
For a smaller amount, use a pork tenderloin and about two onions in a large skillet with cover, a Dutch oven, or a braising pan. Sear the pork, turn back the heat, add the onions, and cook till soft, turning occasionally. Add the broth, cover the pan. Cook on the stovetop at medium low for about 90 minutes.
To avoid tears from slicing onions, light two candles and place on either side of your workspace. It really does work.
If you make too much (you can make ‘too much’ deliberately), this makes a great lead-in to Pork Ragoo. We do this all the time.