Roast loin of pork with sage and onion Yorkshire pudding
Roast pork with all the trimmings is perfect for a slap-up Sunday lunch, and there's no missing out on Yorkshire puds.
Ingredients
For the pork
For the roast potatoes
- 200-250ml/7-9fl oz rapeseed oil
- 5 large floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and cut into large pieces
For the Yorkshire puddings
- 150ml/5fl oz vegetable oil
- 200ml/7fl oz milk
- 5 free-range eggs
- 200g/7oz plain flour
- 2 tsp dried sage leaves
- 2 tsp onion salt
For the mash
- 1 small swede, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- knob of butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the apple sauce
- small knob of butter
- 2 large Bramley apples, peeled, cores removed, roughly chopped
- drizzle clear honey
- pinch salt
For the spring greens
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped into 1cm/½in pieces
- 2 heads of spring greens, leaves separated and rinsed, tough stalks trimmed, roughly chopped and blanched, drained
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 50g/2oz toasted hazelnut pieces
Method
Before cooking the pork, remove the meat from the fridge and bring it to room temperature if necessary.
For the pork, preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Pat the pork loin dry with kitchen paper. Place the meat onto a roasting tray.
Roast the meat in the hot oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the skin begins to blister and the meat takes on some colour. Reduce the oven temperature to 170C/150 Fan/Gas 3 and continue to cook the meat for a further 1 hour, or until completely cooked through. (The pork is cooked through if the juices run clear if pierced in the thickest part with a skewer.)
Transfer the pork loin to a chopping board and remove the skin in one piece using a sharp knife. Wrap the pork tightly in aluminium foil and set aside to rest.
Increase the oven temperature to 190C/170 Fan/Gas 5.
While the meat rests, place the skin onto a baking tray and sprinkle all over with salt. Cook in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until golden-brown and very crisp, then remove from the oven.
For the roast potatoes, pour enough rapeseed oil into a deep-sided roasting tray to reach 0.5cm/½in up the sides. Carefully transfer the tray to the oven to heat the oil - this should take 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in a pan of salted water for 12-15 minutes, until almost tender. Drain well, shaking the potatoes in the colander to roughen the edges.
Carefully add the potatoes to the hot oil, as quickly as is safe to do so. (CAUTION: It is important the potatoes are dry before they are added to the oil - if they are wet the hot oil will spit. Take great care not to burn yourself.) Roast the potatoes for 30-40 minutes, turning a couple of times until golden-brown all over.
For the Yorkshire puddings, divide the oil equally among the 12 holes of a muffin tin. Heat the oil in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until smoking hot.
Whisk the milk and eggs together into a large bowl until well combined. Gradually sprinkle in the flour, whisking after each addition, until the mixture forms a smooth batter with the consistency of double cream. Add the dried sage and onion salt and whisk again. Transfer the batter to a large jug, then set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
When the oil is very hot, carefully remove the muffin tin from the oven and pour enough batter into each of the wells to reach 1.5cm/½in up the sides. Return the muffin tin to the oven and cook the Yorkshire puddings for 18-20 minutes, or until risen, crisp and golden-brown.
Meanwhile, for the mash, boil the swede and carrots in a pan of salted, boiling water for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and mash with the butter until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Meanwhile, for the apple sauce, heat the butter in a lidded saucepan over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the apple and a splash of cold water, then cover the pan with the lid. Reduce the heat to low and cook the apples for 12-15 minutes, or until completely tender. Just before serving, stir in the honey and salt. Beat the mixture until well combined but still retaining some texture.
For the spring greens, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chopped bacon and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly, until the fat has melted and the bacon is crisp and golden-brown.
Add the spring greens to the pan and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, or until wilted and coated in the fat. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then stir in the hazelnut pieces.
To serve, slice the pork loin joint into 6 one-bone portions or cutlets. Serve the Yorkshire puddings, vegetables and apple sauce alongside.
Recipe Tips
Tip 1: Sunday roasts are all about timing. To get this ensemble right, here are some tips. Make the Yorkshire pudding batter ahead of time. Parboil the roast potatoes before you cook the meat. Put the oil for the roast potatoes and the Yorkshire puddings into the oven to heat as soon as you start cooking the meat. Boil the mash while the meat is cooking, and cook the apple sauce and the spring greens while it is resting. (The apple sauce could also be made a day ahead and reheated.)
Tip 2: Pork loin on the bone is a great cut of meat, and a good alternative to cooking beef. By roasting the meat on the bone it stays juicy and tender.
Tip 3: To create the perfect crackling, remove the skin once the meat is cooked and continue to cook the skin until crisp while the meat rests.
Tip 4: Heating the oil until smoking is very important when making the Yorkshire puddings - the heat of the oil helps the batter to rise.
Tip 5: Any leftover Yorkshire pudding batter can be made into savoury pancakes.
