Roast Pork with Cherry Sauce

This is a roast pork dish that my mother made. I do not eat pork, but it turned out so well I had to blog the recipe anyways. The only changes Mom made is to puree the whole cherries in the cherry sauce. The recipe my mom used was found in the December 9-15 2007 issue of American Profile: Southeast Edition. The website is americanprofile.com, and the original author is Bobbie Bankston from Midland, Texas.

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 (3 to 4 pound) boneless pork loin roast
1 (14 ounce) can red tart pitted cherries packed in water
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup cider vinegar
12 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 325F.

2. Combine salt, pepper and sage in a small bowl; mix well. Rub on pork roast. Place roast in an 11-by-7-inch baking dish, fat side up. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 160F.

3. Drain cherries, reserving liquid. Add enough water to cherry liquid to measure ¾ cup. Pour ½ cup into a medium saucepan. Add sugar, vinegar, cloves and cinnamon. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered 10 minutes. Remove cloves and cinnamon and discard.

4. Combine cornstarch with reserved ¼ cup liquid and stir until cornstarch has dissolved. Using a whisk, stir cornstarch mixture into hot cherry liquid. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon juice, butter, cherries. (My mom pureed the cherries a little before adding, makes for a less chunky sauce). Cook 1 minute longer to heat thoroughly.

5. Place pork on cutting board and let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with cherry sauce.

If you want a more sweet/tart sauce, use less sugar.