Wow your guests this festive season with this extra special dish.
Ingredients
- 2-2.2 kilogram Pork loin roast piece (rind on)
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt
- 3 Red apples
- 3 Green apples
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 2 teaspoon Caster sugar
- 600 gram Parsnip (peeled)
- Baby carrots (peeled)
Cherry sauce
- 1 large Jar or can pitted cherries (sour or sweet)
- 1 teaspoon Arrowroot powder
- ¼ teaspoon All-spice
- 1 tablespoon Water
- 1 tablespoon Brandy (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 240°C.
- Score the pork rind with a sharp knife into thin even lines. Take note of pork loin weight.
- If time allows, leave the scored roast uncovered in the fridge for 1 hour, or ideally overnight. This will help dry out the rind for bubbly crackling.
- When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 240°C. Place the pork loin onto a wire rack in the sink and pour a jug of boiling water over the rind. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towel.
- Rub oil and salt into the scored rind area, massaging well.
- Place the roast on the wire rack into a shallow roasting pan and roast for 40-50 minutes, until the rind is golden and crackling. (Do not open the oven door during this period).
- While the roast is crackling, cut a circle around the outside of each apple with a sharp knife. Brush each apple with a little oil and sprinkle with caster sugar. Place prepared parsnip and carrots into a zip lock bag with a little oil and coat well. Place carrots onto a baking tray covered with baking paper.
- Reduce oven temperature to 180°C. Add the apples to the pork loin baking tray and continue roasting for a further 30 minutes per kg. Place parsnip and carrots into the oven at the same time.
- For the cherry sauce, add the cherries and juice to a saucepan. Add arrowroot powder, all spice, water and brandy to the saucepan. Heat over a low heat, stirring well until sauce boils and thickens.
- Remove pork from the oven and allow to rest on the wire rack for 10 minutes prior to slicing and serving. Serve with roasted apples and vegetables. Garnish with a little cherry sauce.
Notes
Crackling tips: If you’re not sure about scoring ask your local butcher to do it for you in the pattern you like. Make sure your roast is brought to room temperature prior to beginning preparation. Pre-heat your oven at least 15 minutes prior roasting.
The dryer the rind, the better the crackle. To achieve great crackling, getting the oven temperature right is critical. We recommend using an “oven thermometer” to check the temperature. If your crackling is not perfect don’t panic. Pre-heat the grill to 200°C then place your roast on a tray in the centre of the oven and grill for 4 – 5 minutes watching the rind carefully so it does not burn. You may need to move it around to grill evenly. Remove, stand for 4 – 5 minutes, then serve.