Oven-baked pork with root veggies: A simple family feast
I love oven-baked meals, especially when I can put all the ingredients in one roasting pan. That's why, instead of frying pork chops in a pan, I lay the chops on vegetables and don't have to do anything else. The dinner bakes, I have a clean kitchen, and time to read a book. I experiment with different add-ins, but I have my favorite set.
The perfect one-pot dish meets the dietary needs of the whole family. For such a meal, you can always add a slaw or a light green salad, but it's not necessary. The roasting pan contains everything that should be on the plate: juicy meat, potatoes, and colorful vegetables.
Version with root vegetables
For the simplest version of this recipe, you need only meat and basic root vegetables—potatoes, carrots, parsley, and celery. Mix the vegetables with your favorite spices, such as herbal pepper, paprika, or garlic.
If you want a nice sauce to drizzle over the meat in the roasting pan, add 2-3 onions. Midway through baking, pour two cups of broth over the meat and vegetables. You can quickly prepare such essence using homemade frozen broth cubes.
Pork loin with oven-baked vegetables recipe
For baking, choose fresh meat from a good source. If you want it to be even juicier, you can—before placing it in the roasting pan—additionally sear it in a pan to seal in the juices. You can achieve a similar effect by placing the slices of pork on hot vegetables.
Ingredients:
- 2.2 pounds of boneless pork loin
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1.1 pounds of potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 zucchini
- 1 eggplant
- 1 red bell pepper
- Optional: a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme
Instructions:
- Slice the meat into pieces about 0.4 inches thick. Rub with olive oil mixed with spices: paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Slice the eggplant and rub with salt to remove bitterness. After 10 minutes, rinse under running water and dry with a paper towel.
- Peel the potatoes and carrots. Cut all vegetables into slices or simply into smaller pieces; for example, you can cut potatoes into half-moons and the pepper into thicker sticks.
- Transfer vegetables to a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, and mix. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees Fahrenheit.
- After 15 minutes, place the slices of marinated pork among them. Optionally, add a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme. Cover everything with a lid or aluminum foil and place back in the oven for 1.5 hours.
