Cooking isn’t just about making dinner, it’s also about the sights,
the smells, and the feel of the ingredients between your fingers.
This dish offers you the chance to get your hands dirty in a very
fun way: wet kosher salt until it’s the consistency of damp snow
and then pack it around a pork loin before roasting it in the oven.
The result is a very moist, very flavorful piece of pork that makes
for a dramatic presentation when you crack it open at the table.
Don’t skip the accoutrement: Andrés serves this with Ibérico ham
he carves off the pig leg itself. Since not many of us can afford to
have a seven-hundred-dollar Ibérico ham waiting for us in our
kitchen, Serrano ham (if you can find it) is a totally adequate
substitution, as is prosciutto. You’re looking for a contrast
between the smoky cured meat and the pure flavor of the salt-
roasted meat.
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, plus a few extra
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, plus a few extra
2-to 3-pound boneless pork loin with some fat on it, at room
temperature
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
The thin tops (1-inch pieces) from 1 bunch of skinny
asparagus
12 or so thin slices Jamón Ibérico, Serrano ham or, if you
can’t find Spanish ham, prosciutto