Roast Pork Loin with Apricots and Mustard on Red Cabbage

- 12 ounces pork loin
- 3 dried apricots, coarsely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 1 teaspoon olive oil, plus extra for filming the pan
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
Instructions:
Each slice of pork loin you fan out over the red cabbage will have an orange-colored core, a burst of apricot color, and flavor. Remember that you needn’t cook pork to death, either. An internal temperature of 160°F is all that’s required.
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Use a sharpening steel, boning knife, or a sturdy chopstick to poke a hole lengthwise through the center of the meat and insert the apricots into this hole, pushing them with your fingers.
- Combine the garlic and parsley with the olive oil on a sheet of wax paper. Season the roast all over with salt and pepper, then slather it with mustard. Dredge the roast in the garlic and parsley mixture. Toss the shredded cabbage with the vinegar in a medium bowl, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Film the roasting pan with olive oil and make a bed of the red cabbage on the bottom of the pan.
- Place the pork on the cabbage and roast, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat is 160°F. Let it stand 5 to 10 minutes, then carve into ½- inch slices and serve, making a bed of braised cabbage topped with fanned-out slices of meat on each plate.