Arista – Tuscan roast loin of pork
I can’t help it! We love meat, in Tuscany!
The most crystal clear example is the floretine T-bone steak, but there are lots of meat cuts typical of our region. An example? Arista, that is a common cut, prepared for many Sunday lunches, during winter and summer, a traditional dish of Florentine cooking.
When there was the first ‘meet the parents’ and dad went for dinner at mum’s home, Aunt Silvana cooked a simple but delicious arista with a green salad: you can easily see how it is a deeply rooted traditional family dish.
Mum’s arista is such a good dish, crisp and tasteful outside, tender and white inside.
When I think about arista, I recall one of my Greek lessons at high school. My teacher and Pellegrino Artusi would tell the same anecdote. Arista has such a fascinating legend when it comes to its name.
They say that this dish was named arista in the XV century, during the ecumenical council in Florence. Cosimo il Vecchio, the patriarch of the Medici family, offered a banquet to the Greek delegation representing the Orthodox church. This roasted pork loin was served and a Greek cardinal exclaimed ariston! the best! Ariston is the superlative form of the Greek adjective agathos, which means good. It was a a compliment of the highest kind. From that moment on, the pork loin in Tuscany is known simply as arista.
This is probably just a legend, as there are documents attesting the use of arista to describe the pork loin even at the end of the XIII century.
After such a presentation, what are you waiting for?
Arista - Roast loin of pork
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share by EmailIngredients
- About 1 kg pork loin with bone
- 1 clove garlic
- A dozen sage leaves
- 1 sprig rosemary
- ½ glass extra virgin olive oil
- ½ glass white wine
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Ask to your butcher the pork sirloin, with fillet and rib bone.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Remove the pork loin from the bone with a sharp knife.
- Finely chop sage, rosemary and garlic, mix with salt and pepper, and rub the pork loin with it. Place the loin back into the bones and tie it up with a string.
- Place the meat into a deep pan and drizzle with half of a glass of extra virgin olive oil.
- Cook the meat in the oven for about an 45 minutes, turning the loin often to brown it everywhere. When it is crisp and roasted, add half of a glass of white wine and reduce. After about 10 minute, when the wine is reduced, the arista is ready.
- Remove the loin from the bone, slice the meat and drizzle with the remaining sauce.
During winter months, you can roast the meat with diced potatoes: they become savoury and delicious with the meat juice. In the summertime, instead, you can eat arista cold, like porchetta, thinly sliced and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
This Post Has 12 Comments
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This is such a fine piece of pork loin? and it is a fine dish…really arista! we need to figure out the oven temp you are asking for 200C? We love Tuscan style and it is such a treat to be able to learn about the heritage of your cuisine. keep these wonderful posts coming. bravo! best from Montecito, California, s
@ Sherry: 200°C is 392 on Fahrenheit. I’m really happy and proud every time I read your comments! It is due to comments like yours that I keep on posting both in Italian and in English!
This dish looks so good. I’ve never made a pork loin like this and will surely be trying this with some fresh local pork! Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for your comment! You should give this loina try! I’ve visited your foodblog, it’s delicious!!
Thank you for sharing. You sure made it so tasty. Enjoy !
The roast is simple and spectacular… and makes me want to practice my Italian! Grazie!
Oh my goodness! I followed the instructions, but used boneless pork tenderloin. The most tender, delicious piece of pork I have ever tasted! My father and son both exclaimed how delicious the pork was. SO easy to do, as well! Thank you so much from someone who loves Tuscan cooking.
Thank you SO MUCH Susie, this means so much to me!
This looks absolutely stunning! I want to try it for my Xmas Day lunch but am worried that I might be a fraction to early for pear season. I might be luck but if not, do you think I could do this with apples and leek on the bottom? Can’t wait to wow my family xx
apples and leeks sound so good!
I have a 1.5 kg boneless pork roast to cook for the holidays. Do you recommend the dutch oven method for this size of roast or would the oven be better? I have made the pork roast in the dutch oven on the stovetop 4 times now since attending class in September. Three times with herbs and one time with apples onions. All were delicious, but all the roasts were one kg. I am just wondering about the larger roast. Grazie!
hello Sally, yes, I would still cook it in the Dutch oven (as long as it fits into your pot!). I’d cook it for about 30-35 minutes, and then let it cool down in the pot.