I get ideas for meals from all over the place. One of my favorites is getting email from my favorite restaurants with updated menus or specials. This particular meal came from that exact source. A local favorite, The Anchorage, emailed a take home meal. I made this up based on their description. I added the arugula for a little brightness and acidity.

We haven’t been to a restaurant in over a year. We’ve done takeout but haven’t actually gone to a sit down restaurant. For a foodie, that is tough. Making copycat meals has become a big help giving us some sort of “normal”.

For all the veggies, we are very luck to have a small local grocery that stocks products from local farms. Swamp Rabbit Grocery had everything, beets, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, turnips and even the fresh arugula. I didn’t even peel any of the root veggies, just scrubbed them good. When you toss them all together, the beets do stain the other veg but I kind of liked it.

Ingredients

Ingredients for Spice Rubbed Pork Loin

The amounts are just estimates and should be adjusted to taste.

• 2 pork loin (the come in two packs generally)
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 2 tbsp Creole seasoning (Tony Chachere’s if my favorite)
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried parsly
• 1 bunch fresh local arugula
• Juice of half a lemon

Ingredients for Roasted Root Vegetables

• 1 large beet
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 large russet potato
• 1 large carrots
• 1 large turnip
• 1 medium red onion
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Ingredients for Mustard Jus

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp AP flour
• Unsalted beef stock
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp stone ground mustard (I like Ingelhoffer)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

How to make Spice Rubbed Pork Loin

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
3. Rub the pork with enough mixture to cover well.
4. Place pork in a 13×9 baking or Pyrex dish and place in the middle rack of the oven.
5. Cook until internal temperature is just shy of 145 degrees about 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove and place pork on cutting board to rest for at least 10 minutes
7. Add the arugula to a bowl and squeeze the lemon, toss to coat the greens.

How to make Local Roasted Root Vegetables

1. Chop all the root vegetables in chunks and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Place all the veg on a sheet pan and place on the bottom rack of the oven while the pork is cooking.
3. After you remove the pork, flip the oven to broiler and cook until tops of the veg are browned.

How to make a Mustard Jus

1. Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add butter and cook until melted.
3. Add flour and whisk until mixture turns blond in color.
4. Slowly whisk in beef stock until you have your desired consistency.
5. Whisk in the whole grain mustard and Dijon mustard.
6. Season to taste and keep warm.