Recipe of the week: Juniper berries: A seasonal taste of the wild

Just 30 years ago, America’s best chefs had little idea what wonderful foods lay out in the wild, write Connie Green and Sarah Scott in The Wild Table (Viking Studio). Today, foraging enthusiasts are “sitting squarely at the curious crossroads of the Stone Age and haute cuisine,” as more and more great kitchens make inventive use of such wilderness foods as game, wild mushrooms, unruly greens, and earthy berries.

Many of us know juniper berries as the predominant flavor in gin. They’re not actually berries, though. They are berry-like seed cones whose “distinctive resinous tang” has long held “a special place in wild-game cookery,” particularly in the piney landscapes of Germany, the Alsace region of France, and Hungary. The hint of sweetness in the juniper berry can also elevate the flavors of fall fruits or cabbage.

Recipe of the week

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Juniper-Rubbed Pork Loin With Prunes and Savoy Cabbage

1½ tbsp juniper berries

½ tsp black peppercorns

1½ tbsp kosher salt

2 bay leaves, crumbled

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2½ to 3 lbs boneless pork loin

Prepare the rub well in advance: Using mortar and pestle, or mallet, crush juniper berries and peppercorns. Mix well with salt, bay leaves, and garlic in small bowl, then press mixture evenly over pork loin. Place loin in shallow pan; cover tightly with parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Remove one hour before roasting.

For prunes and cabbage

4 oz of bacon cut into ¼-inch strips

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

1 medium head of savoy cabbage, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices

1 tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

½ cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken broth

6 oz pitted prunes, cut in half

Position rack in center of oven. Preheat to 350 degrees. In large braising pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.

With hot bacon fat in the pot, brown pork loin on all sides until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. Add onions, stirring occasionally until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage and combine. Add salt and pepper. Cabbage will begin to shrink as it cooks. Stir in wine. Turn up heat and cook until wine is almost gone. Add broth, prunes, and bacon and mix well.

Place pork on top of cabbage mixture. When broth bubbles, cover pot with lid or foil and place in oven. Roast loin for 30 minutes covered; remove cover and cook another 15 to 20 minutes or until internal temperature is 140 to 145 degrees. Remove from oven, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 15 minutes before serving. Serves four to six.