Pressure Cooker Pork Roast With Blood Oranges

A succulent pork roast dripping with the brilliant red juice of the blood orange, the tang of good mustard, the herbal earthiness of rosemary, and the sweetness of currants… Pressure Cooker Pork Roast With Blood Oranges is an elegant and approachable main dish to grace the table shared with your Valentine, and prepared in less time with your pressure cooker!

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.

~~ Virginia Woolf

As a food blogger, when January rolls around, I start thinking of food. Well, I’m always thinking of food, but in January, I’m thinking of “fancy” food. Not complicated food. Elegant food. A special dish or two. First, always, to please my love, but secondly to bring something special to all of you.

One of my favorite aspects of living in south Texas is the beautiful citrus. The cities and towns are surrounded by groves, and the variety is amazing! January brings blood oranges, and their gorgeous vermilion hue is perfect for Valentine’s Day… Don’t you agree?

I love pork and citrus. When I started putting this recipe together in my mind, pork seemed the perfect protein with the citrus. I often google ingredients – partly for confirmation that my idea isn’t too far out of the main stream, but also to make sure there aren’t already a million recipes out there. The top result for pork + blood oranges is the Roast Pork Loin with Blood Orange Mostarda from the Food Network Kitchen. If you have followed me for any length of time, you are probably aware that I rarely adapt a recipe, but if I do, credit is always given. This is a gorgeous recipe. I feel confident that were you to follow the Food Network recipe, you would achieve amazing results! 

So, the Roast Pork Loin with Blood Orange Mostarda provided the inspiration for my Pressure Cooker Pork Roast With Blood Oranges, though they are 2 very different dishes. I chose to use my Pressure Cooker XL (electric) rather than my oven. The sauce is created with blood oranges and garlic that roast with vegetables and the cooking liquid from the pressure cooker. My sauce is more tart than sweet (I reduced the amount of sweeteners), and it is slightly thickened with cornstarch rather than cooked down to a syrup. I used the roasted blood oranges in the sauce, and garnished the plate with fresh oranges. The brussels sprouts, sweet potato, and multi-colored new potatoes paired well with the orange sauce, but feel free to make substitutions. The roasted vegetables cook in about the same amount of time as the pork… A truly elegant meal in under an hour!

 If you are not fortunate to have access to blood oranges (they are not as widely available), your dish will be delicious using your favorite oranges. You will, however, miss the gorgeous vermilion hue.  🙂 If you’re new to pressure cooking or looking for new pressure cooker recipes, I have a few in my archives:

• Wild Rice and Farro Pilaf
• NM Red Chile Posole
• Salmon and Rice With Lemon Caper Chimichurri
• Chana Dal With Spinach
• Tropical Fish In Banana Leaves (or Parchment)
• Korean Chicken Thighs
• Lamb Stew Provençal
• See more in the Pressure Cooker category in the Recipe Index!

If you make this dish, I’d love to hear from you! If you take my advice and stay in for Valentine’s Day, I would love to know what you cook… Best,

5 from 1 vote

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Pressure Cooker Roast Pork With Blood Oranges

A succulent pork roast dripping with the brilliant red juice of the blood orange, the tang of good mustard, the herbal earthiness of rosemary, and the sweetness of currants... Pressure Cooker Pork Roast With Blood Oranges is an elegant and approachable main dish to grace the table shared with your Valentine, and prepared in less time with your pressure cooker!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 547 kcal

Author Tamara

Ingredients

For the Pork Roast

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 pounds lean boneless pork loin
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 large blood orange, zest and juice (see notes)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup white wine
• fresh rosemary, stripped and chopped (about 9")
• 1 teaspoon sea salt and several grinds pepper

Roasted Vegetables and Blood Oranges

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 pound fingerling or new potatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1 pound brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise
• 2 blood oranges, cut in eighths
• 1 red onion, cut in wedges
• 1 bulb garlic, halved crosswise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (to drizzle)
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Sauce

• 1 cup cooking liquid (ladle from the pot and strain)
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 6 roasted garlic cloves, mashed with a fork (squeezed from their skins)
• juice from the roasted oranges
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey
• 1/3 cup currants (or golden raisins)
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees (400 convection roast).

1. Add the olive oil to the pressure cooker either on medium high cook top or the "brown" feature on an electric. When it's hot, add the pork and brown on each side.

2. Add the garlic, and using tongs, move turn it over to distribute the garlic.

3. Whisk the blood orange juice and zest, chicken broth, white wine, rosemary, salt and pepper together and add to the pressure cooker.

4. Lock the lid, and set to full pressure (if manual cook top model) or the meat setting. My adjustment to "medium" cook time gives it 30 minutes, and this was perfect.

5. While the pork cooks, prep the vegetables and oranges. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

6. Roast 30 to 40 minutes until vegetables are tender and browning. When they're ready, turn off the heat, remove the oranges and garlic, and leave the vegetables to keep warm in the oven. You may wish to leave the door ajar. The sauce only takes a few minutes.

7. When the pressure cooker is done, do a 10 minute natural release (no heat), then fully depressurize and open.

8. Remove 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the pot, and strain. Replace the lid to keep the pork hot until ready to serve.

Make the Sauce

1. Add the strained cooking liquid to a small saucepan on high heat. Add the white wine and garlic cloves. Cook until reduced by about half.

2. Whisk the juice from the roasted oranges together with the cornstarch (juice needs to be room temperature not hot). Add to the saucepan. Stir until bubbly and slightly thickened.

3. Add the dijon mustard, agave nectar or honey, and currants. Stir well to combine. Taste for seasoning with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

To Serve

1. Arrange the vegetables around the roast on a platter. Drizzle with the sauce. Garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley if desired.

Recipe Notes

When roasting vegetables, you want to make sure the sizes are somewhat uniform for even cooking. You don't want any crunchy potatoes!

Feel free to substitute or add vegetables according to your preferences. Keep in mind length of time to get them all cooked. I find the combination of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts works great. 

You don't need the entire bulb of roasted garlic. Keep the extra cloves for smearing on bread. You can store them in a zip bag. Roasting gives the garlic a more mellow, sweet, complex flavor. You can skip this step if you wish.

Nutrition estimates are approximate. 32 ounces of pork is approximately 5 ounces per serving. We try to stay in the 4 to 6 ounce range of protein per serving. The amount of sauce depends on how much you cook it down, and how much you pour over the dish. Macronutrients: 34 g protein, 39 g carbohydrates, 21 g fat.