Roast Pork with Vegetables
You just need one pan for this rustic style roast as all the vegetables are added to the joint towards the end of cooking.
Serves: 6
Preparation: 30 minutes
Plus: Cooking time: 2 hours 30–40 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 Onions, thickly sliced
- 6–8 fresh Thyme sprigs,depending on size
- 1.75 kg boned thick end of Belly Pork, rind scored
- a little Olive Oil
- 750g New Potatoes, scrubbed and large ones halved
- 700g Courgettes, thickly sliced
- 2 different coloured Peppers, halved, de-seeded and cut into large chunks
- 350g Tomatoes, halved
- 4 Garlic Cloves, halved
- freshly ground Black Pepper
- 150ml Red or White Wine
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
- Place the onions in a roasting tin, arranged in a mound about the same size as the pork joint.
- Lay half the thyme sprigs on top and put the pork joint on top of that.
- Rub a little oil and salt, if liked into the rind and roast, uncovered, for 1 3/4 hours, spooning the pan juices over halfway through cooking.
- Pour off most of the fat from the roasting tin to leave about 3 tablespoons.
- Reserve the drained fat in case you need it later.
- Add the potatoes to the tin and toss them in the pan juices.
- Roast for 15 minutes and then take the tin out of the oven.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200°C Gas Mark 6.
- Turn the potatoes, add all the remaining vegetables and thyme with the garlic, sprinkle the vegetables with a little seasoning and toss them in the pan juices.
- If there aren't quite enough juices to coat, drizzle over a little of the fat that you drained off earlier.
- Roast for 30–40 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the potatoes are browned.
- Insert a small sharp knife into the centre of the pork – if the juices run clear the pork is ready.
- If the pork rind hasn't crackled sufficiently, transfer the pork to the base of the grill pan and cook under the grill for a few minutes until the top is crisp, but keep a watchful eye so that it doesn't catch.
- Transfer the pork to a serving dish and the vegetables to a second dish.
- Add the wine to the roasting tin and heat the tin on the hob until the pan juices are bubbling.
- Pour into a jug.
- Carve the pork into thick slices (you may find it easier to remove the crackling first and snip this into pieces with kitchen scissors).
- Serve with the vegetables and sauce.
Tips
Vary the vegetables depending on what you have in the garden; thickly sliced squash or chunky pieces of aubergine also work well.
Score the pork rind with a new craft or Stanley knife and keep it especially for this purpose.
You will find it much easier to use than a kitchen knife.
This recipe is from Cooking from the Garden by Sara Lewis and published by Simon & Schuster in 2012 ISBN 978-0-85720-860- priced £9.99
For a complete list of all WI books please send a sae to WIE 104 New Kings Road, London SW6 4LY