Arista

This is one of the most classical dishes (roasts) in Tuscan cooking and I must admit that it is one of my favourite. It is basically a pork roast taking the pork sirloin cut. Better would be to have it with the bones, far from Tuscany however this is a meat cut not easy to find. The name dates back to the Renaissance period, when Florence was a melting pot. The legend says that the Medici family organized an ecumenical council with the Roman and Greek churches (sort of G8 of that time). As usually happens in Italy, no problem how harsh the discussion might have been during the day, once at sharing a meal everyone agrees on it. So the Greek cardinal, tried the pork roast and after the first taste simply said “aristos”, the best, and from then onwards the dish got the name of Arista.

I agree with the Greek cardinal, arista is for sure one of the best dishes of Tuscan cooking. It is not very common in restaurants, but it is one of the most popular Sunday lunches in Florence.

So here are the ingredients for 4 people

Pork sirloin (whole) 800g
Rosemary
1 Teaspoon of Fennel seeds
2 cloves garlic
Salt, Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

For the best results I would suggest that you prepare the meat a few hours or the night before cooking. In this way it will be tasteful.
Finely chop the garlic and the rosemary with the fennel seeds, add the pepper (1/2 teaspoon should be enough) and cover the arista with this mixture.

DO NOT:
Add salt at this point, it will recall all the liquids from the meat resulting in a chunky shoe sole
Punch the meat, it has to be as integral as possible
Add the mixture to the sides.

Depending on the size of the meat the cooking will take around 40-90 min. And it is better eaten if left for 15 min to rest after the cooking. So consider your timing accordingly. Before the cooking add plenty of salt to the arista (again on the top and bottom, not to the sides), and cover with olive oil, Place in the oven (using a suitable tray of course) at maximum heat for 15 min. Then cool the oven at around 200° and continue to cook. You can check the cooking by punching the meat and once you feel it is soft inside it is ready. Also during this checks you can collect some of the juices that form on the bottom and you pour over the meat. For a 800 g piece 60 min are usually required.
Collect the juices in a bowl and cut the meat into ½ cm slices. Serve with the juices on the side.

As a side dish you can prepare some roast potatoes. Cut the potatoes in cubes around 2 cm long. Place in a metal tray with plenty of salt, rosemary (you can prepare also some extra herbs mixture that you used for the meat) and olive oil and cook with the meat.