Roasted Pork Loin and Sweet Potatoes Over Baby Kale and Spinach Salad
This recipe showcases a kale and spinach base with sweet apples, dried cranberries and toasted pumpkin seeds, while making slow roasted sweet potatoes and moist, tender pork loin, the stars of the show. Doesn’t that just sound like Fall on a plate?
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a shallow roasting pan with heavy foil; drizzle the foil with just a bit of olive oil.
In a small bowl, combine the garlic with the red pepper flakes and the ginger root: rub this mixture over the exterior of the loin, then season the loin generously with kosher salt and pepper, to taste.
Meanwhile, in a large cast iron skillet, heat a bit of olive oil over medium high heat; when the oil is hot, place prepared pork loin into the skillet, browning it off on all sides. Remove the pork loin from skillet and place it into the prepared roasting pan.
Roast the pork loin, uncovered, on center rack of the oven for 15-20 minutes. While the pork is roasting, toss sweet potatoes with 1 Tbs. olive oil; season to taste with salt and pepper. After the pork loin has roasted for 15-20 minutes, remove it from the oven, adding the prepared sweet potatoes to the roasting pan, spreading the sweet potatoes in an even layer around the pork loin.
Roast the pork and sweet potatoes about 25-30 minutes longer or until an instant- read thermometer inserted into the center of the loin registers 145 degrees F. and the sweet potatoes are fork-tender. Remove from the oven, tenting it with foil, letting pork loin rest for 5-10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the baby kale and spinach. In a dressing cruet, combine the oil, vinegar, honey and mustard; shake well to combine all ingredients; season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the greens in the bowl, tossing to coat. Divide the dressed greens among 4-6 serving plates.
Slice the pork loin, placing 2-3 slices over the dressed greens on each plate, surrounding sliced pork on each plate with roasted sweet potatoes. Top the pork and sweet potatoes with apple slices, cranberries and pepitas; serve at once.