Pork loin and lemon tajine-style

This recipe could not be a proper tajine recipe. To my knowledge, tajines come from North Africa where most people are muslim and thus do not eat pork. And I don't have a tajine dish. But this dish has some tajine-ish flavours and is baked into the oven. This experimentation using pork loin, summer veggies and lemons was stunning. We loved it!

Alright... I am not very happy with the pictures (well that's a good reason for replicating the recipe again and making new pics! yay!). Trust me it tastes much better than it looks. Plus it is a very healthy option, full of flavours and veggies, that you can serve with couscous for a complete meal. The sauce is awsome - rich but made out of the veggies and the lemons, with just a little bit of fat from the meat and the olive oil. Quite a healthy and addictive sauce. Believe me when I said that I loved this dish!

Even No.2 (nearly 1!!! yay!!!) loved it. The mix of veggies is perfect, the kumara and the tomatoes bring a little bit of sweetness to balance with the lemon. The veggies can be pureed, but they are so soft that it's easy for babies to eat in chunks.

Ingredients (6 servings)

- 1 kg pork loin, trimmed
- 1 tbsp olive oil + a bit more
- 2 eggplants, thick strips
- 3 or 4 zucchini, large pieces
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 large red capsicum, large strips
- 1 large green capsicum, large strips
- 3 garlic cloves, halfed
- 3 fresh lemons, cut in quarters
- 2 or 3 large tomatoes, cut in quarters
- 5 medium orange kumara, 5 mm slices
- 1 tsp paprika
- dry thyme
- salt, pepper
- 200 ml of water

Instructions (1 - 1.30 hour)

You need a cast iron pot that is oven safe for the baking process. Pre-heat the oven, fan bake, at 180C.
1. Heat some olive oil in the pot and cook the onion in until soft.
2. Sear in the pork loin on each face - takes approx. 10 mins. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Stir in the eggplants, the garlic and the capsicum for 5 mins.
4. Add the zucchini and the lemons. Stir for 2 mins.
5. Add the water and the paprika. Season to taste.
6. Cover the pot with the kumara and tomatoes. Sprinkle with thyme and salt. Add a dash of olive oil. Put in the oven for 40-45 mins at 180C, fan bake. If the top dried out, then reduce the temperature or cover with foil.
7. Take the meat and carve it. Dress it on a plate with the veggies. Filter the sauce - the delicious sauce! - and reduce it on medium to high heat for 5-7 mins.

Serve with couscous and enjoy!