Cooking with David

a small boneless pork roast (e.g., top loin or sirloin), about 1.5-4 pounds

fresh herbs:

• 1 sage leaf
• 2 bay leaves
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 12 inch branch of rosemary with leaves along the entire length
• 1-2 large cloves of garlic

olive oil

Let the roast stand on a plate for an hour or more, to bring it near room temperature.

Rinse the fresh herbs. Tear the sage leaf into 4-6 pieces. Bend the bay leaves along their midribs; tear out and discard the midribs. Tear the bay leaves into 4-6 pieces each. Strip enough leaves from the sprigs of thyme to make about 1 tablespoonful. Strip the leaves from the rosemary branch. Put all the herbs into a blender or mini-processor.

Peel and dice the garlic. Add it to the herbs.

Pour about 1 teaspoonful of olive oil into the herbs. Blend. Add more oil. Blend some more. Repeat until the garlic is finely chopped and you have a thin — not runny — paste.

Rub the paste all over the roast. Let stand for several minutes.

Preheat both sides of the barbecue. On the side where the cooking grate is low, preheat with the highest flame. On the side where the cooking grate is high, preheat with a medium-low flame.

When the barbecue is hot, place the roast on the low cooking grate (high fire) for 5 minutes. Turn and cook 5 more minutes. Quickly move the roast to the high cooking grate (medium-low fire) and reduce the flame under that grate slightly. Turn off the high flame under the low cooking grate. Close the cover and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the roast. Close the cover and cook for 15 more minutes.

Remove the roast from the barbecue. Let it sit for 5 minutes before carving.