Another (good) reason to slow cook

I have already made obvious my love of slow cooking. Until now there were two reasons: taste and convenience. The faculty is now confirming this choice and adding a medical component. New studies on advanced glycation end products, AGEs in short, indicate that those compounds, which form when meat is seared at high temperature, the famous Maillard reaction, increase inflammation (i.e. risks of heart disease, artherosclerosis, diabetes and arthritis) in human bodies. Because we love this charred taste and smell, the food industry has added a lot of synthetic AGEs to their products. The usual suspects are the good guys in our fight against AGEs: we should eat more vegetables and fruit, use fresh products AND cook at slow temperature. In other words, favor boiling, steaming and poaching over grilling. My recipe of the week respects all this criteria and more. A pork rib roast gains flavor from an association with cumin and citrus fruit. A long simmering in the natural juices from both meat and fruit insures a not too sweet taste. Served with rice, it is a perfectly satisfactory dinner for four to be enjoyed without guilt.



Slow cooked orange pork rib roast
Ingredients:
Pork rib roast bone-in (ask the butcher to tie the roast together) 2 lbs (1 kg)
6 oranges
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Material:
Slow cooker with a metal inset
Paring knife and board

Cut both extremities of the oranges, making sure there is no pit or skin left. With a sharp knife remove all the skin and quarter the oranges, keeping only the flesh.
After having frozen the onion for 30 minutes, peel it and slice it thinly. Place a tablespoon of olive oil in the inset and add the onions and sauté along with a tablespoon of sugar. Remove from the gas and add the meat, bone first. Sprinkle with cumin and salt. Add the oranges.
Place the inset in the slow cooker and program it on high for 4 hours.
To serve, remove the meat, discard the tie and cut in pieces. Place the orange segments on top and the sauce in a saucer. Propose some brown rice along.