Sunday Feast № 44 | Festival des Pommes, with Honey Glazed Roast Pork with Apples as a Main Attraction

"An impressionistic tour of Normandy, where the apple is king and calvados completes the meal" said the subtitle to a story in Saveur magazine May 2016 issue. That also means apple cider, or as it was in my misreading of a recipe I locked onto - apple cider vinegar. Yes, that is what I used even though looking at the recipe again, it distinctly calls for just apple cider. Did the swap matter? No, it was super tasty just as the run through the ingredients promised.    If the photo here does not grab you, please ignore it, I was in a rush to eat and feed, and proceed with cooking your own. Absolutely worth it. All that butter and honey help, I'm sure. Also, if you happen to have those big size apples, three is enough. Pair it with apple, celeriac, and carrot salad and apple cider to drink. Finish off with after-dinner swigs of calvados. Life is good.

~2.5-3 lb pork loin, tied salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp honey 4 rosemary sprigs 4 thyme sprigs 6 tbsp unsalted butter cut as 6 slices 2 medium yellow onions cut into 8 wedges each ⅔ cup dry apple cider vinegar 3-5 sweet tart apples, say Gala, cored and quartered

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Place the pork in a large roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the honey over the pork, then arrange the rosemary and thyme on top. Place butter slices in a row on top of the honey glazed pork and herbs, then arrange the onions in the pan around the pork. Pour the cider into the pan and bake until and thermometer inserted into the middle of the pork reads 120°F/50°C, ~45-55 min. Scatter the apples around the pork and continue baking until the apples are tender and the thermometer reads 160°F/71°C, ~ 45 min more. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and let the pork rest for 20 min. Transfer to a serving platter and cut into slices. Scatter the baked apples and onions around the pork and drizzle all with the pan juices before serving.