ROAST PORK, PERFECT CRACKLING & APPLE SAUCE

IT REALLY pays to spend money on good pork. There is all the difference in the world between meat from an oldfashioned pig like a Middle White or Gloucester Old Spot that has been allowed to root about outdoors, and a pallid joint from a barn-reared beast fed on pellets. You need a good butcher, too. The most maddening thing for a cook is to get a beautiful joint of pork, with a few vandal’s slashes through the skin instead of perfectly scored crackling (see my tip below).

SERVES 10

2.5kg boned, rolled and tied loin of pork, skin intact 2tsp cooking oil Salt

For the apple sauce

450g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and sliced 4tbsp water 2-3tbsp sugar

For the gravy

1 tbsp plain flour 425ml good stock Salt and pepper

To serve

1 small bunch of watercress HEAT the oven to 220c/fan 210c/gas 7. Score the pork rind. Make long fine cuts just through the skin into the fat, but not through the fat into the flesh (which would allow the juices to bubble up and spoil your crackling). Wet the palm of your hand with oil and rub it all over the skin. Put into a roasting tin and, once the oven is hot (not before), sprinkle with a good dusting of salt. Then put the joint into the middle of the hot oven. Roast for an hour, then turn the oven down to 190c/ fan 170c/gas 5 for a further hour. Test for ‘doneness’ by piercing the flesh with a skewer (not through the crackling). The juices should run clear. If they are pink, return the roast to the oven and cook for a further 15 mins, then test again. Meanwhile, make the apple sauce. Put the apple slices in a pan with the water and the sugar. Cook slowly, covered for around 15 minutes or until the apples are soft and broken down. Beat briefly and tip into a bowl for serving. Once the pork is cooked, remove and place on a serving dish and turn off the oven. Allow oven and pork to cool for five minutes, then return the pork to the still warm oven while you make the gravy. Tip off all but a tablespoon of the fat from the roasting tin. Stir the flour into the remaining fat and juices in the tin, scraping the sediment and stuck bits up as you do so — that’s where the flavour is. Stir over the heat to brown the flour. Add the cold stock and whisk over the heat while bringing to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the gravy is slightly thickened and season to taste. Strain into a warmed gravy jug. Garnish the pork with watercress and serve with the apple sauce.