Few things are easier to make for a group than a roasted pork loin, but sometimes it can be a little bland. Gilding the sliced meat with a bit of mellow, garlicky sauce ensures your Sunday roast will have plenty of flavor and adds moistness as well.

　　

Ingredients

6 to 8 servings

　　

Roasted Garlic

2 heads of garlic

　　2 tablespoons olive oil

　　Salt

　　

Pork Loin

1 (3 1/2- to 4 1/2-pound) boneless pork loin

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Vinaigrette

Roasted garlic (above)

　　1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

　　1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

　　3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 teaspoon sugar

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 475°F.

　　

To Make the Roasted Garlic

Step 2

Cut the heads of garlic in half crosswise. Place the garlic halves on a sheet of foil, drizzle them with the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Fold the foil up and around the garlic halves, making sure they stay upright. Seal the foil into an airtight package. Roast until the garlic cloves are golden and soft, about 60 minutes. Keep the garlic in the foil and cool slightly.

　　

Step 3

Thirty minutes after the garlic has started roasting, place the pork loin in a medium, heavy roasting pan. Season on all sides with salt and pepper. Roast the pork along with the garlic until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 to 145°F, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the roasting pan from the oven, tent the pork with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.

　　

To Make the Vinaigrette

Step 4

Open the garlic packets and squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into a blender, squeezing the base of each garlic half. Add the parsley and balsamic vinegar and pulse until blended. Drizzle the oil into the blender while the machine is running. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons water and blend until incorporated.

　　

Step 5

Slice the pork into 3/4-inch-thick slices and transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over the pork and pass the remaining vinaigrette alongside in a small dish.

　　Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.