Oven-Roasted Pork Loin with Roasted Sweet Potato and Chimichurri

Pork loin is one of those cuts that gets a bad reputation because most people cook it into oblivion. Treated properly — rubbed hard, seared aggressively, and pulled at the right temperature — it's juicy, tender, and cuts like butter. Pair it with sweet potatoes that catch the edges in the oven and a fierce, garlicky chimichurri, and you've got the kind of plate that looks effortless but eats like a restaurant main.

How to roast

Pork loin lives or dies by temperature, so the first thing to do is get it out of the fridge early. Pat it completely dry — surface moisture is what stops a proper crust from forming. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil (3 tablespoons), finely grated garlic (3 cloves), smoked paprika (2 teaspoons), cumin (1 teaspoon), dried oregano (1 teaspoon), Dijon (1 tablespoon), 2 teaspoons of salt, and plenty of black pepper into a thick, rust-coloured paste. Slather it over every surface of the loin, pressing it into the meat with your hands. Leave the loin on a plate at room temperature for 30 minutes — cold meat straight from the fridge will sear unevenly and take forever to come up to temperature in the oven, guaranteeing a dry outer edge.

While it tempers, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and prep the sweet potatoes. Peel them and cut into roughly even 3cm chunks — any smaller and they'll turn to mush, any larger and the centres won't cook through in the time the pork needs. Spread them on a large sheet tray and toss with olive oil (2 tablespoons), smoked paprika (1 teaspoon), cumin (1 teaspoon), salt, and pepper. Arrange them in a single layer with space between the pieces — crowded sweet potatoes steam instead of caramelise, and you lose the whole point.

Now the sear. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with a splash of oil until it's properly shimmering. Carefully lower the pork loin in and sear it on all sides — including the ends — until each surface is deeply golden-brown, about 2 minutes per side and 8-10 minutes total. This step isn't about cooking the meat, it's about building flavour. Searing first is the difference between a beige, sad-looking loin and something that looks like it came out of a proper kitchen. Don't put the whole skillet in the oven unless you know it's oven-safe to 200°C — instead, transfer the seared loin to the centre of the sweet potato tray, nudging the potatoes out toward the edges to make space.

Slide the tray into the oven. The pork needs 30-40 minutes depending on thickness, and the absolute best thing you can do here is use a kitchen thermometer. Pull the pork the moment the thickest part reads 62°C (143°F). Yes, really. That seems lower than what you were taught, and that's because what you were taught was wrong — modern pork is safe at 63°C, and pulling at 62°C gives you a blushing pink centre that stays juicy. Carry-over cooking will take it up to 65°C (149°F) while it rests, which is exactly where you want it.

Transfer the pork to a board and tent loosely with foil. Rest it for 12-15 minutes — no less. Resting is when the juices redistribute through the muscle fibres; if you slice too early, all that juice runs onto the board and you're left with dry meat. Check the sweet potatoes at this point — if they're not caramelised enough, give them another 5-8 minutes in the oven while the pork rests.

Now the chimichurri, which needs to be made while everything else finishes so the herbs stay vivid and the flavours have time to meld. Chop the parsley (40g) and fresh oregano leaves (15g) finely with a sharp knife — don't use a food processor, which bruises the herbs and gives you a sad green paste. You want texture. Mince the garlic (4 cloves) as finely as you can manage and chop the chilli (1 small, deseeded). Combine everything in a bowl with the red wine vinegar (3 tablespoons), flaky salt (1/2 teaspoon), and plenty of black pepper. Stir in the olive oil (120ml) and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Taste — it should be sharp, garlicky, herbal, and a little spicy all at once. If it's flat, it needs more salt or more vinegar, almost always one of those two.

For the jus, pour off any excess fat from the searing skillet (save it if you like — it's great for roasting potatoes another night) and set the pan over medium-high heat. Pour in the white wine (100ml) and scrape up all the browned bits stuck to the bottom with a wooden spoon — that's where the real flavour lives. Let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes, then add the chicken stock (150ml) and any resting juices from the pork's board. Reduce until it's glossy and coats the back of a spoon, another 3-4 minutes. Taste and season.

Slice the pork against the grain into 1.5cm-thick pieces. You'll see the fibres running along the length of the loin — cut across them on a slight bias. The centre should be faintly pink, not grey, and glistening.

Bonus points

• Dry brine overnight: Season the pork loin generously with salt (about 1% of the meat's weight) the night before and leave it uncovered in the fridge on a rack. The surface dries out for an even better crust and the salt seasons right through the meat.
• Toast your spices fresh: Toast whole cumin seeds and dried oregano in a dry pan for 30 seconds until fragrant, then grind them in a mortar for the rub. The difference between fresh-toasted and pre-ground spices is genuinely enormous.
• Add preserved lemon to the chimichurri: Finely chop 1 tablespoon of preserved lemon rind and fold it into the finished sauce. It adds a bright, briny complexity that ordinary lemon juice can't match.
• Smoke the sweet potatoes first: If you have a stovetop smoker or a grill, cold-smoke the sweet potato chunks for 15 minutes before roasting. It adds a woodsy depth that complements the chimichurri beautifully.
• Use aji chilli: Swap the red chilli for a fresh aji amarillo or a tablespoon of aji amarillo paste for a more authentic South American profile — fruity heat rather than straightforward burn.
• Crispy sage garnish: Fry whole sage leaves in a splash of hot neutral oil for 10 seconds until they turn crisp and translucent. Drain on kitchen paper and scatter over the finished plate — they shatter under the fork and taste incredible with pork.

Serving

Plate this one rustically but with intent. Warm your plates first so the pork and jus don't chill on contact. Fan three or four slices of pork across the centre of each plate, overlapping so the pink interiors show. Tumble the roasted sweet potato chunks alongside in a loose pile, letting them lean against the pork. Spoon the glossy pan jus over and around the meat so it pools into the empty spaces, then finish with a generous spoonful of chimichurri over the pork slices — don't be shy, the sauce is the whole point.

For a family-style version, carve the entire loin onto a large warmed platter with the sweet potatoes tumbled around it, pan jus spooned over the top, and the chimichurri in a small bowl on the side so people can help themselves.

Serve with something green and sharp to cut the richness — a simple bitter leaf salad with lemon and olive oil, or blanched green beans tossed with salt and more chimichurri. For wine, reach for a Malbec (the obvious Argentinian match), a spicy Syrah from the northern Rhône, or a Tempranillo from Rioja if you want something with age and leather. All three will stand up to the smoked paprika rub and the garlicky chimichurri without flinching.