Aromatic Tuscan-Inspired Pork with Garlic, Rosemary Is Chef’s 1-Pan Take on Arista

By Yukako Oishi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:30 JST, October 12, 2025

For those craving a pork dish, Italian cuisine chef Yoshinaga Jinbo’s recommendation is arista. It is an aromatic and appetizing dish in which rosemary and garlic is stuffed into a large portion of pork loin and roasted.

Arista is a traditional dish in Italy’s Tuscany region. One theory behind the name is that it derives from “Aristos” (the best), after a Greek bishop’s description of the dish during a religious conference in the 15th century. It is an unusual dish in that no sauce is used. The main seasonings are instead directly inserted into the meat.

To make the dish more accessible, Jinbo cooks thick slices of pork loin in a frying pan.

At a butcher’s, “you should order slices of shoulder loin that are at least 2 centimeters thick,” Jinbo said.

The fat along the edge of the pork slices should be cooked first to render it. Although some people say they do not like pork fat, it contains the meaty flavor.

“Render the fat first and use that melted fat to saute the potatoes. By doing so, you can transfer the meat’s flavor to the potatoes,” he said.

The pork slices should be cooked quickly. If cooked in the pan for too long, the meat becomes tough.

“Transfer the meat to a tray when the [meat] surface has changed color, a sign that the meat is more or less fully cooked,” he said.

Place the tray beside the stove to allow the meat to rest in the residual heat and finish cooking. Cover the pork with the sauteed potatoes so that their residual heat keeps it warm.

The aroma of the pork and the strong scents of rosemary and garlic bring out the best of each other. The pork has a rich taste and soft texture. Other vegetables can also take on the pork flavor well.

Only a single frying pan is needed to make the dish.

Arista pork loin roast

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 2 thick slices pork loin (150-200 grams each)
• 2 garlic cloves (sliced)
• 1 freshly cut rosemary branch
• 2 potatoes (a total of 150 grams)
• 150 grams cabbage
• 10 grams unsalted butter
• 50 milliliters white wine
• Coarsely ground black pepper



Directions:

1. Strip the rosemary leaves from the branch. Make seven to eight incisions into the around edge of each pork slice with a knife and insert the garlic and rosemary. Sprinkle pinches of salt and coarsely ground black pepper on both sides of the slices.

2. Dice potatoes with the skin on into 1-centimeter cubes and cut the cabbage into 1-centimeter-wide strips.

3. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a frying pan and place on high heat. Add both pork slices and stand them up in the pan to render the ridge of fat. Add the cubed potato to the empty part of the pan and saute, making sure to shake the pan occasionally so the rendered pork fat covers them.

4. Cook both sides of the pork slices until they brown slightly. Transfer them to a tray. Remove the potatoes when they are thoroughly cooked and put them on the pork.

5. Heat unsalted butter in the same frying pan and stir fry the cabbage. Add white wine to the cabbage and cook until soft.

6. Plate the cabbage and sauteed potatoes. Cut the pork slices diagonally into 1-centimeter-wide strips and arrange on the plate with the vegetables. Pour any oil left in the tray over the meat and garnish with any leftover rosemary.

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  The Yomiuri Shimbun
  Insert rosemary and garlic into incisions made around the edge of the pork slices.

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  The Yomiuri Shimbun
  Render the fat on the edge of the pork slices. Surround the pork with cubed potatoes.

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  The Yomiuri Shimbun
  Cover the pork slices with sauteed potatoes to keep warm.

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