Roasted Pork Loin with Brown Butter Mushrooms

I must admit that unless it's pulled BBQ or baby back ribs, I am not a huge fan of pork. I was experimenting with our dressing as a marinade with various kinds of meat and thought, "What the heck, let's give pork loin a try" (halfway not expecting it to be edible), but this one turned out to be absolutely delicious. It's also super budget friendly which can't be beat, however, it's sometimes tricky to get this cut right as it's easily dried out if overcooked. Make sure you have a meat thermometer and check periodically to ensure it's juicy and tender.

I paired my pork loin with a simple brown butter mushroom topping as well as Bon Appetit's Best Risotto Recipe, which I've used many times in the past and although it's super time consuming, it's just so so good. It takes almost the exact amount of time to cook as the loin itself so the timing is perfect!

Serves 6

For the pork loin

Ingredients:

• 2.5-3 lb pork loin roast - make sure it has a nice thick fat cap on top. Note this is not the same as pork tenderloin!
• Altruda's Italian Dressing & Marinade

Directions:

1. Pour about 1/2 bottle of dressing into a ziplock bag and place loin inside, sealing to make sure the bag is air tight. If your loin is bigger, you may need more dressing. 
2. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight, rotating the roast once or twice in the fridge to ensure it's completely coated with marinade on all sides.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place roast fat cap up on a baking sheet with a rim high enough to catch the juices, preferably elevated on a rack. Pour some reserved marinade over your roast before baking.
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, and then reduce temp to 350. Cook about 20 minutes for each pound, but check the temp at about 18 minutes per pound. Take your roast out when it reaches internal temp of about 135-140. The temperature will continue to rise after you take the roast out. 
5. Using tin foil, lightly tent over your roast, and let it sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. I prefer thin slices about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Pour juices from pan over your roast before serving.

For the mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 1 carton of baby bella or other flavorful mushrooms such as cremini or portabella, sliced
• 4 tbsp butter
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat skillet on medium heat and add butter until it becomes foamy.
2. Add mushrooms to skillet and cook for at least 10 minutes until they are very brown and have developed a nutty aroma.
3. Add salt to taste

Assemble risotto on plate with mushroom topping, pork loin slices, reserved marinade juices from pan, and some fresh grated parmesan cheese. Note that this is also great served over mashed potatoes. Enjoy!