Spiced Pork Roast

With my birthday on the way I decided to cook a Sunday lunch for my family to celebrate.  I then spent days deciding what it should be, but in the end traditional roast won out when I saw this recipe from the March 2012 issue of Good Food Magazine. A lovely recipe from James Martin incorporating dishes packed with flavour.

Spiced Slow Roast Pork

Serves 8 with plenty for leftovers

4Kg boned and rolled shoulder of pork

5 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tsp chilli flakes

zest & juice 1/2 a lemon

1 tblsp oil

Make a rub out of all the ingredients and massage into the pork.  Place the pork on to a trivet of onions and pop into the oven at 220oc for 30 mins to get the skin to crackle.  Turn the heat down to 150oc or 130oc for fan and roast away for a further 3 hours.

I then removed it, transferred it to a serving plate and covered it in foil for 30 mins whilst my roast potatoes cooked and I made up gravy with the juices and onions in the pan.  When the time was up I whacked it under the grill for 5 mins just to let the skin crackle up again, then served.  Lovely dish the chilli and thyme giving a little taste kick to a traditional roast.

I served it with roast potatoes, swede and carrot mash, peas and another James Martin recipe for -

Red Cabbage with Apples & Star Anise.

Shred a red cabbage

2 bay leaves

3 star anise

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

200ml veg stock

75ml cider vinegar

50g caster sugar

2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges

Put everything except the apple into a heavy pan.  Bring to the boil then simmer for 30 mins.  Add the apples and simmer away for a further 15 mins or until soft.  I made this the day before and it reheated very well still giving the cabbage a slight bite and some really excellent anise flavouring that blasted through the pork.  A very yummy birthday dinner indeed.