Prep time; 2 hours 30 minutes

Serves 4 

Ingredients 

1.5 kg loin of pork

Sea salt

Ground white pepper

1-2 tblsp groundnut oil

Cider sauce

20ml groundnut oil

1kg pork bones (ask your butcher), chopped small

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

1 Leek chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 bay leaf

2 thyme sprigs

2 sage sprigs

1 tblsp Plain flour

1 granny smith apple, chopped

300ml dry cider

400ml chicken stock

1 tblsp Dark Soy sauce

Gratin Dauphinois potatoes 

Equipment: Pyrex dish 290 x 200cm

Ingredients:

300ml milk

200g whipping cream

3 garlic cloves lightly crushed

1 bay leaf

5g salt

2g white pepper

20g unsalted butter softened

1 kg Désirée, Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C/ Gas Mark 6. Season the pork loin generously with salt, rubbing it in well to encourage a crispy crackling, then season with pepper. Place a roasting tray or large ovenproof pan over a high heat, add the groundnut oil and heat to almost smoking point. Add the pork loin and turn to seal all over. Now place in the 500gr of the pork bones into the oven tray and put the loin on top. Transfer to the oven and roast for 1 ½ hours or until cooked through.

In the meantime, prepare the cider sauce. Place a heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat and heat up, add the oil. Heat well before you add the pork bones and colour until golden brown stirring frequently.

Add the vegetables, garlic and herbs, lower the heat and cook or 8-10 minutes or until softened and golden, now add the plain flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chopped apple and cider. Bring to the boil and reduce by half before adding the stock and soya sauce. Bring back to the boil, skim and simmer again for 45minutes.

Pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean pan and simmer to reduce by at

least half, to thicken and concentrate the flavour.  Keep warm.

Gratin dauphinoise potatoes, 

Pre heat your oven to 170°C / Gas Mark 3. Place the cream, milk, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes before using.

Take a piece of garlic and rub the Pyrex dish well with it, and then rub the dish with the softened butter.

Peel and slice the potatoes thinly using a mandolin and layer them into the dish, overlapping the slices evenly layer by layer. Finish off the top with a neat uniformed layer, now pass off the liquid over the top of the potatoes and down through the layers. Make sure that the potatoes on top are covered lightly with the cooking stock before placing them into the oven on a tray. After 10 minutes take a spatula and press down to ensure that potatoes remain covered.

Cook for 45 minutes to an hour then check to see if nicely coloured and continue to cook until the potatoes are soft.  Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Remove the pork from the oven, transfer to a warmed platter and rest in warm place for 10 minutes. Pour off the fat from the roasting pan, and then add the meat juices to the sauce. Carve the pork, first removing the crackling in one piece to make it easier to do so.

Arrange the pork slices on warmed serving plates. Add a portion of crackling and a large spoonful of gratin dauphinoise. Enjoy!

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