Orange Marinated Pork with Pistachio

This recipe is a bit of a mess, actually. A bit like the photo, really (not sure WHAT I was thinking with the angle, except that my family hasn't quite adjusted to this whole "wait for photographs to be taken before tucking in" thing).

With all those distinctive flavors (orange marmalade! chili pepper! Dijon mustard!) you'd expect it to have some serious kick to it, but as it turned out, not so much. The salad of sweet potatoes, asparagus and chickpeas served with mâche we had to go with it totally stole the show, there. (This will be blogged about when we make it again, because my pictures turned out all sucky.)

The award for most superfluous ingredient (and there's lots to choose from, unfortunately) goes to the pomegranate seeds that just totally disappeared during roasting, leaving no discernible taste to either meat or drippings, although to be perfectly honest, the pomegranate I had wasn't anything to write home about. (Think that could have something to do with it?)

Still, it's not like it was a TOTAL disaster, so here is the recipe:

Orange-Marinated Pork with Pistachios (and some other bits and bobs)

adapted from Kodin Kuvalehti

for the marinade:
100 ml orange marmalade
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp crushed chili flakes
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice
100 ml chopped mint
1 cinnamon stick

top loin or neck of pork, about 2,5 kg (ours was a lot smaller)
pomegranate seeds, pistachio nuts and sliced oranges

Whizz together the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor, rub into meat. Marinate in the fridge overnight. Let sit at room temperature for a few hours before roasting.

Stud the meat with pomegranate seeds, pistachio nuts and orange slices (this is where the mess came in). Roast, fatty side up, at 225°C for 20 minutes, then at 175°C until internal temperature reaches 70°C, about an hour and a half. (The recipe called for an internal temperature of 85°C which I'm choosing to call a typo and not a deliberate attempt to sweat out everything that is enjoyable about meat. Ahem.) Take out of the oven, cover with tinfoil and let rest for about ten minutes before serving. Drizzle with pan juices.