Spiced Maple Pork with Sweet Potato Hash

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - 
When hubs and I buy pork, it is always a huge portion.  When there are only two of you, that means the pork roast can become six meals plus leftovers if you are lucky.  We had already made pork chops and pork fried rice, so I decided to make a basic roast this time around.

After allowing the pork to come to room temperature, I covered it in olive oil.  After seeing maple syrup in the pantry, I opted for a sweet and spicy pork.  I rubbed the pork with cayenne, thyme, salt and pepper and proceeded to bast it with maple syrup while it roasted in the oven.

On the side, I opted for sweet potatoes though hubs isn't a fan.  I'm determined to make him a fan due to my love affair with the root vegetable.  Plus, he likes potatoes, I don't understand.  I decided to make a hash out of them and add some spinach to really get that nutrition level up.  I began by seasoning up some sauteed onions with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  The shredded sweet potatoes were then added.  Unfortunately, I had the wrong attachment on my KitchenAid, so I got a very fine potato versus the thicker cut I was looking for.  So my hash ended up almost mashed, but it still cooked well and tasted delightful.


I added some nutmeg and let it continue to marinate in flavor.  I threw in the leftover spinach we had in the fridge for it to finish up as I took out the pork.  The pork was done to my liking (I love it a little pink, don't hate) after basting it in maple syrup for the last 40 minutes.  It was a big chunk of meat and I wasn't anticipating it taking so long, but it was worth the wait for sure.

The pork was extremely juicy and bursting with flavor.  It was a great cut of meat and the maple syrup not only left it subtly sweet, but gave it a thin and crisp outer layer.  The syrup was perfect with the spice of the cayenne pepper I had rubbed on it.  It was fantastic, so fantastic that we didn't have leftovers from the meal.  The potatoes and spinach, though not the texture I wanted, were great with the pork. They had their own sweetness, but were elevated with the nutmeg and pepper I had used to season it.

Delicious weekday meal, and I'm happy to report, hubs ate all of his potatoes!