I HAVE often written about pork being so under utilised – it is one of those great meats that can take many different flavours. Here is a slightly sweet cure that, when roasted, caramelises the fat wonderfully well.

I am frequently asked how much meat should be ordered when roasting a joint – a simple tip is to think about it as a 250g (8oz) portion of meat multiplied by the amount of people you are cooking for.

SWEET ROASTED PORK WITH CRACKLING

Ingredients (serves 8)

1 loin end of pork (about 1.8kg or 4lb) with crackling
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly milled pepper
2 dsps of coarse seed mustard
2dsps of golden syrup, heaped
2 glasses white wine
200ml water
Small bunch of fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme all well chopped
1 dsp cornflour

Pre heat the oven to 220°C, Gas Mark 7

Method

1. To make perfect crackling remove the skin from the loin by cutting away in one piece. Score well with the point of a sharp knife and place on a wire rack and then onto a tray. Brush with a little oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast until crisp and golden and reserve to one side.

2. Meanwhile roast the pork, place fat side upwards in a roasting tray and again using the tip of a sharp knife criss-cross the fat about 5mm deep. Season with sea salt and freshly milled pepper and roast for about one hour until almost cooked.

3. Remove from the oven and rub the mustard all over the fat then spoon over the golden syrup. Add the wine and water to the roasting tray and cook for a further 15 minutes until golden.

4. Press the herbs to the pork and return for a further 10 minutes. Lift the pork out of the tray and keep warm.

5. Dissolve the corn flour with a little water and whisk into the roasting tray liquid, scraping off any of those juicy caramelised bits that have stuck and pass through a sieve and into a pan. Boil and skim the fat from the top.

6. Carve the pork and serve with juices.

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