SERVES 4

1.35 kg | 3 lb loin of pork without skin or much fat
oil for frying
15 g | ½ oz butter
1 onion, finely chopped
290 ml | ½ pint brown stock (see page 102)
100 ml | 3 ½ fl oz red wine
110 g | 4 oz no-need-to-soak prunes
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly
2 springs of fresh thyme
150 ml | ¼ pint single cream

To garnish
1 small bunch of watercress

1. Preheat the over to 150°C | 300°F | gas mark 2.
2. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole. Add the butter and, when foaming, add the pork. Fry until lightly browned all over. Add the onion and fry until golden.
3. Add the stock, wine, one-third of the prunes, the redcurrant jelly, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to boil, then cover and cook in the oven for 1 ½ hours.
4. Remove the pork from the casserole and slice neatly. Arrange in overlapping slices on a serving dish and keep warm in the turned-off oven while you make the sauce.
5. Strain the cooking liquor, removing any excess fat. Boil until reduced to a syrupy consistency. Add the cream and remaining prunes.
6. Spoon the sauce over the pork and garnish with watercress.

wine: MEDUIM RED

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]

SERVES 4

1.35 kg | 3 lb loin of pork, with skin intact
oil
salt

To serve
1 small bunch of watercress
apple sauce (see page 130)

For the gravy
2 teaspoons plain flour
290 ml | ½ pint brown stock (see page 102)

1. Preheat the over to 220°C | 425°F | as mark 7.
2. Score the rind (crackling skin) with a sharp knife in cuts about 5 mm | ¼ in apart, cutting through the skin but not right through the fat.
3. Brush the skin with oil and sprinkle with salt to help give a crisp crackling.
4. Place the pork in a roasting pan and roast for 25 minutes per 450 g | 1 lb plus 25 minutes.
5. Once the pork is cooked, turn off the oven, put the pork on a serving dish and replace it in the oven, leaving the door ajar if it is still very hot.
6. Tip all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the roasting pan, reserving as much of the meat juices as possible.
7. Add the flour and stir over the heat until well browned.
8. Remove from the heat, and the stock and mix well with a wire whisk or wooden spoon. Return it the heat and bring slowly to the boil, whisking all the time. Simmer for a few minutes until the gravy is shiny. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain into a warmed gravy-boat.
9. Garnish the pork with watercress and serve with the gravy and apple sauce.

NOTE: If the crackling is not crisp by the time the pork is done remove the crackling in one piece and return to the oven.

wine: MEDUIM RED

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]

SERVES 6-8

1 ham or gammon joint
1 onion
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
freshly parsley stalks
black peppercorns
demerara sugar
dry English mustard
a handful of cloves

1. Soak the joint overnight in cold water to remove excess salt.
2. Place it in a large saucepan of cold water and add the onion, carrot, bay leaf, parsley stalks and peppercorns. Bring slowly to the boil, cover and simmer for 25 minutes per 450 g | 1 lb. For large joints (i.e. 3.5 kg | 8 lb upwards) allow 20 minutes per 450 g | 1 lb.
3. Leave the joint to cool slightly in the stock. The lift out and carefully pill of the skin without removing any of the fat. Reserve the cooking liquor as ham stock.
4. Preheat the over to 220°C | 424°F | gas mark 7.
5. While the ham is still warm, press a thin even layer of dry English mustard over the surface then cover completely with a layer of demerara sugar.
6. Using a sharp knife, cut a lattice pattern across the joint through the sugar and fat. Press on again sugar that falls off. Slick a clove into each diamond segment, or into the cuts where the lines cross.
7. Bake the joint for about 20 minutes, or until brown and slightly caramelized.

NOTES: If you haven’t time to soak salty ham or gammon overnight, cook it for 30 minutes in plain water and then transfer to a pan of simmering water with the vegetables and herbs. The joint can be decorated with a ham frill: to make one, cut a piece of greaseproof paper to about 12 x 30 cm | 5 x 12 in. Fold it loosely in half lengthways, without pressing down the fold. Make 5 cm | 2 in cuts, 1 cm| ½ in apart, parallel to the end of the paper, cutting through both thicknesses from the folded side towards the oven sides. Make the cuts all along the strip. Now open out the paper and refold it lengthways in the opposite direction. Wrap the frill round the ham bone and secure with a paper clip.

wine: FULL RED

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]

SERVES 4

1.25 kg|2 ½ lb skinned pork belly pieces (American spare ribs)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 clove of garlic, crushed
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the marinade
4 tablespoons clear honey

1. Mix together the ingredients for the marinade and soak the spare ribs in it for at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator. The longer they marinate the better.
2. Preheat the over to 180°C | 350°F | gas mark 4.
3. Put the ribs, with the marinade, into a roasting pan and bake, covered, for 2 hours. Increase the temperature to 200°C | 400°F | gas mark 6.
4. Remove the cover and book, basting occasionally, for 45 minutes, or glazed and sticky.

wine: MEDUIM RED

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]

SERVES 20-24

450 g| 1 lb good-quality pork sausage meat
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon
dried sage
grated zest of ¼ lemon
30 g| 1 oz fresh white breadcrumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C| 400°F | gas mark 6.
2. Mix together the sausage meat, onion, parsley, sage, lemon zest and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Using wet hands, shape into balls the size of a ping-pong ball.
4. Place in a roasting pan and bake for 30 minutes.

wine: SPICY RED

________________________________________

Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]