Some of my favorite recipes are the ones I don’t have to get anything special for. In my resolution to cook at least once recipe from the several dozen cookbooks scattered around my apartment and goal to cook something healthy at least once a week, I stumbled upon my Cooking Light: Cooking Through the Seasons. (but of course, I would own their seasonal cookbook). Leeks are one of my favorite vegetables, so as long as they’re in season, I generally have a few on hand. I had a pork loin in the freezer and everything else was basic pantry items. What I also loved was that technically this is a one pot meal. With the leeks, you don’t really need another side, though I chose to go with some balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts anyway.

This is a kind of in between cooking dish. It’s not one that needs to cook all day for a Sunday dinner, but still needs to roast for 2 hours, eliminating that “quick fix dinner” option. Maybe a get home from work early type of day? You could chop the leeks the day before, and have everything ready to go when you get home. So figure if you can start dinner right when you get home at 6pm, you’ll easily be sitting down to a tasty meal around 8:30pm. The two hours of roasting doesn’t need any special attention, so you’re free to do whatever else needs to be done or just sit and enjoy a glass of wine.

Overall the dish was super satisfying, easy to make (minus the cooking time) and left delicious leftovers. Definitely a dish to keep on the short list.

Pan Roasted Pork Loin with Leeks (adapted from Cooking through the Seasons) Serves 6

• 4 large leeks (about 2 1/2 lbs), sliced into 1/2″ half moons
• 1/2 c water
• 3 tsp butter, divided
• salt and pepper
• 2lb boneless pork loin, trimmed
• 1 c dry white wine

Combine leeks, water, 1 teaspoon butter and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Cook 10 minutes or until leeks are wilted. Pour leek mixture into a bowl.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons of butter in the dutch oven over medium high heat. Season pork with salt and pepper and add to pan, browning all sides, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Add wine and cook 15 seconds, scraping the pan to remove brown bits. Return leaks to pan, covering pork and spreading around the bottom of the pan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or until pork is tender.

Remove pork from pan and slice into 1/4 inch slices. Serve with leek mixture.

To store leftovers, put pork in a tupperware container and cover with leek mixture to retain moisture.

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