This is a family favourite recipe, very simple to make but amazingly good! The meat, pork or veal, comes out very tender and, although it takes quite some time to cook (but your constant attendance is not required), the milk, along with sage rosemary and garlic, reduces down to create a delicious brown sauce…. and has low calories!!!
Cooking meat in milk is common throughout north Italy because it results in moist meat and a flavorful sauce.
Here it’s called Arrosto al Latte (milk roast – pron. Rr-os-toh) even if it’s not cooked in the oven, in fact here we call something roast (especially meat) when it’s cooked over high heat and browned.
In Tuscan the name for roast pork loin with ribs attached seasoned with rosemary, sage, garlic and pepper is Arista (R-east-uh). This derives, as Artusi said, from an ecumenical council held in Florence in 1430 to attempt to settle the differences between the Greek and Roman Churches, during which the Florentines served their guests this dish. The Greeks all began to exclaim, “Aristos!” (“the best” in greek) and the name stuck.
Arista in Tuscany is usually cooked with white wine instead of milk, but you can find both versions.
If you’re using Veal loin for this recipe, when it’s cold, you can cut it in very thin slices and cover them with the appropriate sauce to make a delicious “Vitello Tonnato” (Veal with Tuna Sauce – recipe in a next post)….. but if you don’t mind, you can use pork loin too to do this. đ
Milk-Braised Pork or Veal Loin with Fresh Herbs, Italian Style (Arrosto al Latte)
Difficulty:Â easy
Preparation: 5 minutes 
Cooking Time:Â ~2 hours
Yield:Â 4
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 lbs / 1,3 kg boneless pork or veal loin, tied
- ~10 sage leaves
- 1 medium sprig of rosemary
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ~1 1/2 cup whole milk (for more info read the instructions)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Ask your butcher to tie the meat correctly before cooking or you can do this, it’s simpler as it seems (look at this accurate video for instructions).
This will ensure that the meat remains constant throughout the cooking process so that it cooks evenly and when you’ll cut the slices they’ll be uniform.
Season the loin well with salt and pepper (if you have Salamoia Bolognese or Seasonello Bologna salt use that).
Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and brown loin on all sides. This is important for the flavor and for the tenderness of the meat (it will take about 10 minutes to ensure all the edges are golden).
Stir in rosemary, sage and garlic and pour the milk in with the meat until it reaches about half the loin.
When the milk comes to boil lower the heat to low and partially cover the pan with a lid.
Cook the loin for at least 2 hours, or until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. If you have an instant thermometer, insert it into the center of the meat and it should read 65°-70°C / 150°-160°F for a slightly pink center, while if you want the loin to be well done it should read 165°-175°F / 75°-80°C.
Remember to turn the meat once or twice during the cooking time.
I like the meat to be well done, as you can see from the photos below, so I cook it for 3 hours (before cooking, the meat was at fridge temperature).
Remove the meat and put over a cutting board to rest, loosely covered with foil to keep warm.
At this point, the milk sauce should be thick, curdled and in a nutty brown colour. If it’s not so thick or you like a more dense sauce you can add 1/2+ teaspoon of flour (paying attention to dissolve it very well) and boil the sauce for 2 minutes.
Remove and discard garlic, rosemary and sage from the milk sauce.
Now the sauce is ready, but if you don’t like serving the roast with some chunks of coagulated milk in it (it’s not pretty but they will melt in your mouth), you can whisk the sauce with a hand mixer to obtain a smooth sauce.
Slice the loin (tip: the meat is easier to cut when it’s fridge cold!), pour over the milk sauce and serve (if you find, upon slicing the meat, that youâve undercooked it, slip the slices and sauce in a pan and bring to a simmer until cooked through).
Usually the roast is better the next day, so that the loin has time to absorb the flavours from the sauce.
If you’re using this recipe to make Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Sauce), just arrange the “dried” slices of roast on a serving plate and cover with the Tuna Sauce (in which you have whisked some milk sauce in – recipe in a next post).
When I cook this recipe I usually put the meat covered with foil in the fridge to chill, because this helps the cutting process, especially if you cut it in thin slices.
This recipe is very easy to follow, healthy and delicious, so it’s a keeper!
What’s you favourite recipe for Pork or Veal Loin?
- 2½ lbs / 1,3 kg boneless pork or veal loin, tied
- ~10 sage leaves
- 1 medium sprig of rosemary
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ~1½ cup whole milk (for more info read the instructions)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Tie the meat correctly before cooking.
- Season the loin well with salt and pepper (if you have Salamoia Bolognese or Seasonello Bologna salt use that).
- Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and brown loin on all sides.
- Stir in rosemary, sage and garlic and pour the milk in with the meat until it reaches about half the loin.
- When the milk comes to boil lower the heat to low and partially cover the pan with a lid.
- Cook the loin for at least 2 hours, or until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. If you have an instant thermometer, insert it into the center of the meat and it should read 65°-70°C / 150°-160°F for a slightly pink center, while if you want the loin to be well done it should read 165°-175°F / 75°-80°C.
- Remember to turn the meat once or twice during the cooking time.
- Remove the meat and put over a cutting board to rest, loosely covered with foil to keep warm.
- At this point, the milk sauce should be thick, curdled and in a nutty brown colour. If it's not so thick or you like a more dense sauce you can add ½+ teaspoon of flour (paying attention to dissolve it very well) and boil the sauce for 2 minutes.
- Remove and discard garlic, rosemary and sage from the milk sauce.
- Now the sauce is ready, but if you don't like serving the roast with some chunks of coagulated milk in it (it's not pretty but they will melt in your mouth), you can whisk the sauce with a hand mixer to obtain a smooth sauce.
- Slice the loin (tip: the meat is easier to cut when it's fridge cold!), pour over the milk sauce and serve (if you find, upon slicing the meat, that youâve undercooked it, slip the slices and sauce in a pan and bring to a simmer until cooked through).
Looks amazing, and does remind me very closely to the Sunday arrosto I grew up with! Love your pictures, BTW đ
Thank you Paolo, it’s so kind of you!
BTW I think that this is the classic arrosto that every italian family refers to.
Buon Natale a te e famiglia!
This must be delicious! The pictures you take are of such high quality it makes me hungry in a second! Cheers from the north!
Thank you! I’m not a photographer and I don’t have time to study it, so I try my best! Thanks for passing by.