oven-roasted pork with a simmered cherry-rhubarb sauce, rosemary and garlic rub

A roast like this takes over an afternoon, and the demands are real: baste it every 30 minutes, keep half an eye on the oven, watch a Sunday slip by without your full attention. If you are the only person at your table doing this protocol, a roast that turns into a real, generous meal and leftovers besides is worth what the afternoon asks of you.

Zinc is what a cut of pork like this is genuinely good for, tied to how dependable your immune defenses stay and how well a strained gut lining can mend over time. The cherries' deep color comes from anthocyanins, and whatever vitamin C survives the simmer comes along with it. None of it needs anything off the ingredient list to taste rich, just rosemary and a touch of honey.

Rub the paste into the meat with real care, since that's most of the hands-on work you'll do here. Once the roast rests and you slice it, ladle the warm cherry-rhubarb sauce across each portion right before you carry it to the table. Sit down for this one instead of eating it standing at the counter.

Ingredients

• One 2 to 3 pound fresh ham, loin roast, or shoulder
• Salt (omit black pepper for AIP)
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar (or omit, or use honey)
• 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1 1/2 cups bone broth

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup frozen or fresh pitted sweet cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped rhubarb
• 1 to 2 tablespoons honey, to taste
• 1 sprig rosemary

Method

Heat the oven to 375 F. Pat the roast dry. Mix the salt, minced rosemary, coconut palm sugar, and garlic into a rough paste and rub it all over the meat.

Set the roast in a roasting pan and pour about half the bone broth into the bottom. Roast uncovered, basting with the pan juices and the rest of the broth every 30 minutes or so, until a thermometer in the thickest part reads 145 F. For a 2 to 3 pound roast this is roughly 1.25 to 1.75 hours, though it varies by cut and shape. Move the roast to a board, tent it loosely, and let it rest at least 15 minutes before slicing.

While the pork rests, make the sauce. Combine the cherries, rhubarb, honey, and rosemary sprig in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring now and then, until the rhubarb breaks down and the sauce thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes. Pull out the rosemary sprig and taste for sweetness.

Slice the rested pork and spoon the warm cherry-rhubarb sauce over the top.

*Adapted from gutsybynature.com*