Pork Roast with Prunes, Apples, and Potatoes

This is maybe one of my favorite dishes! I don't know when my parents or grand-parents cooked it for me but I have always liked it. Every year, I can't wait for Fall and Winter to arrive to be able to make it! I like it because it's sweet and savory at the same time, because you don't really know whether you are going to eat an apple or a potato (children can't be picky!!) ... and also because the prunes are adding a nice sweet taste to the pork roast. Simply delicious...

You could make it with Pork Tenderloin but I think it's best to have a piece of pork with some fat around so that the meat is not too dry. For time-saving reasons, I have started to cut the meat in smaller pieces so that they cook faster. It's really good because then the meat is fully covered with the sauce (as oppose of just the edges of a roast). Bon Appétit!

Ingredients
-  Pork roast (or Tenderloin)
- 1 cup (250 ml) of white wine
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 4 pitted prunes per person (more if you like them a lot)
- Fresh Thyme or Bay leaves
- Small potatoes (about 2-3 per person), cut in small pieces (3/4 in. cubes (2cm))
- Apples (about 1 per person), cut in small pieces (3/4 in. cubes (2cm))
- Olive oil, salt and fresh black pepper.

• In a French oven cocotte (or thick-bottom pot with lid), saute the onion in olive oil
• Roast the meat, about 5 minutes per side. Take the meat out of the cocotte and reserve
• Add the prunes and pour the white wine and swill out the cocotte for 2 minutes (the white wine will evaporate some and you'll be left with a thicker sauce.
  
• Add the Thyme/Bay leaves and put the meat back in the cocotte. Coat the meat with sauce.
  
• Cook under slow heat for about 20 minutes
  
• After 15 minutes, add the potatoes and coat them with sauce
  
• After 15 minutes, add the apples and coat them with sauce.
• Let cook for another 10 minutes (until the apples are cooked but not mushy)
  

My personal comments:

• If you find that there is not enough sauce (liquid) in the cocotte, you can add more white wine or water.
  
• Since I always cook more to have leftovers, I don't really care about how much meat I buy but if you purchase a whole roast, count on the fact that it might shrink while cooking. About 4 ounces (115 gr) of meat per adult seems reasonable for me; half of that for children 2-4 year old.