PORK LOIN WITH APPLE-CORNBREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon in a large (9-quart) heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
• Add chopped onions, fennel, and chopped apple to fat in pot; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add thyme, rosemary, and chopped sage; cook 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl; let cool completely. Keep pot on stove with heat off.
• Add corn bread, stock, and reserved bacon to bowl. Season stuffing with salt and pepper, and gently stir (do not break up corn bread too much).
• Generously season cut side of pork with salt and pepper, and then spread with apple-corn bread stuffing, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides. Starting from one short side, roll up pork, encasing the stuffing.Tie rolled pork at 1-inch intervals with kitchen twine. Generously season rolled pork with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in pot over high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown pork all over, about 10 minutes total. Transfer pork to a large plate. Pour off fat from pot; blot any left in pot with paper towels.
• Bring cider to a boil in pot, and deglaze pot by scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon. Return pork to pot; put cipollini onions, peeled apples, and sage leaves around sides. Transfer to oven; cook, uncovered, 30 minutes.
• Turn pork over; add unpeeled apples. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted at least 2 inches into pork registers 140 degrees. about 15 minutes more.
• Let pork stand in pot at room temperature 15 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Discard twine. Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve with apples, onions, and sauce from pot.