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

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Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

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