Pork Sirloin Roast with Chimichurri

(about 4-5 servings)

I rarely make a roast because I prefer braised meat dishes, but the other day I came across a very lean looking pork sirloin roast I couldn't resist. It was hand trimmed, minimally processed, hormone free and inexpensive; $2.99 per pound. As I was holding it, I decided a chimichurri sauce would go nicely with it, so I grabbed a few items entirely forgetting the parsley which this type of sauce often contains.

The resulting pork roast was much better than I imagined and the robust chimichurri sauce sans parsley was amazing!

chimichurri sauce
small bunch of cilantro
1 Anaheim chili pepper
2 green onions
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cardamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
juice from 1 lime
zest from half a lime
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp olive oil

2 lb boneless pork sirloin roast

1-2 tsp olive oil
salt and ground black pepper

Wash the cilantro and shake dry. Roughly tear it up, stems and all, and place into the bowl of a food processor. Wash the Anaheim pepper, trim off the top and cut it into chunks, leaving in the seeds as it's relatively mild. Wash the green onions, trim off the roots and cut them into a few sections and add those.

Add the garlic, cumin, cardamon, black pepper and salt to the bowl as well. Cover and pulse the motor several times until the mixture is nicely chopped taking care it doesn't become pureed.

Scrape the mixture into a bowl and add the juice from the lime, the zest, ginger and olive oil. Stir until well combined.

Wash the roast and pat dry. Using a sharp knife butterfly the roast. (I did not do a great job with mine. :p) Spread a thick layer of the chimichurri over the meat, then roll it back up and tie it together with kitchen string. Reserve any leftover sauce to serve with the finished roast.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Remove the roast from the refrigerator and pat the outside dry.

Lightly coat the roast with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then place the roast into a shallow baking pan.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350° F. Bake another 35-45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F on an instant read thermometer. After 30 minutes or so there was enough liquid in the pan for basting the pork, which I did twice. I began checking the internal temperature at 10 minute intervals after 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow the roast to sit for 5-10 minutes. Remove the kitchen string. Slice into thin slices. Serve with the reserved chimichurri sauce.