Pork Roast with Dried Fruit

This delicious make ahead recipe serves a crowd, but can easily be pared down to suit your needs.  You can tell from my picture I overcooked it just a little, but it was still delicious....and I wanted to keep the picture because that's just how it goes sometimes.  I would do everything a day in advance up until you are ready to sear the meat off and roast.  The searing takes a little time, you'll just have to excuse yourself from your guests to make your house smell delicious, it then roasts in the oven and you can get back to entertaining.

Pork Roast with Dried Fruit

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 or 3 pork loins (you're looking for 8-9 lb. total)
• 2 cups mixed dried fruit (I like a mix of apricots, prunes, currants, and blueberries, but any mix will do)
• 2 jars pear preserves or jam
• 1 bunch sage, julienned, divided
• 8-9 pears, halved and cored
• 3-4 lb. shallots, peeled and halve the large ones
• salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 16 - 18
Cook time: 45 minutes

Go ahead and get your kettle boiling with water.
First off, you'll want to slice into each pork loin to open it up like a book, or rather like a pamphlet.  Here it goes: slice, lengthwise, into a pork loin about 2/3 of the way up, "open" the flap and then slice, lengthwise, in the opposite direction to halve the lower 2/3 of the loin.  So, now you have three "flaps", still connected that open up like a pamphlet - I have done the meat roulades where they are sliced in half and then pounded then, but I think slicing into the meat to open it three way makes it thinner and easier to roll.  Now that you have a large "sheet" of meat, cover it with plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to flatten as much as possible.  Salt and pepper both sides of the pork loin.
Now, chop your dried fruits so they are all roughly the same size; mix in a couple spoonfuls of the pear jam, half the sage and salt and pepper.  Pour boiling water over the fruit mixture and cover to steep for about 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes drain fruit mixture and spread evenly over inside of pork, leaving about a 1/2" border.  Carefully, and patiently, roll pork up and tie, keep the seam side down.  Repeat as necessary with remaining pork loins.
Preheat oven to 425.  Toss pears and shallots (halve any large shallots) in a few spoonfuls of pear preserves (or jam), olive oil, salt and pepper.  Put pork loins on sheet pans and surround them with the pears and shallots.  Brush remaining pear preserves (or jam) on the top of the pork loins and cook until they register 135 with a meat thermometer, about 45 minutes.  Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.