Gold Medal Meals: German Pork Roast

We got back on the podium tonight, if you will. After taking an American fast food break from our run of Gold Medal Meals, our culinary tour moved back to Europe. Germany specifically.

The way I arrived at this dish is interesting, in that I actually had to figure out a meal that would give me the leftovers I need for another dish later this week. I don't want to give it away, but the main ingredient I need is roasted pork. So I figured the Germans would be a good choice to do up a pork roast. Indeed, I found several recipes for Schweinebraten, and picked a simple one. As always, I made some slight adjustments for my needs and based on my stock of ingredients. Also, I'm including the ingredients and directions I followed, but below that I've included some notes I think would make this even better.

Ingredients 
3 tablespoons olive oil 
4 garlic cloves, minced 
1 teaspoon lemon juice 
1 teaspoon mustard (I substituted deli for stone-ground)
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, thyme and rosemary, crushed 
1/4 teaspoon pepper 
2-4 lbs pork roast (the original recipe calls for boneless whole loin roast, but for economy's sake, I went with a loin rib end roast)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges (I suggest
3 medium onions, cut into wedges 
1 medium yellow tomato, cut into wedges

Directions
Mix olive oil, garlic, mustard, lemon juice and spices in a bowl. Rub mixture all over the roast. Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. Add potatoes, onions and tomatoes. Cook for 40-70 minutes or until pork reaches 160 and potatoes are cooked through. Let meat rest 10 minutes before slicing

  

Now, I'd never cooked this before, and the pork turned out tender and juicy, but I thought it could have used a little more flavor. Using the stone-ground mustard that the original recipe called for probably would have helped. I also would have liked a little more color, and would probably use a regular red tomato if I ever make it again and/or some carrots. That being said, we thought the roasted yellow tomato was delicious! I might also toss the potatoes in a little oil and maybe a little seasoning, such as seasoned salt or onion soup mix just to add a little flavor.

Regardless, like I said, the roast was very nice. A little apple sauce definitely made a nice accompaniment, and helped our two-year-old enjoy it a little more.

Again, this was a set-up meal for something later this week. The only hint I'll give is that it won't be European like tomorrow's meal will be.