Serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
- 1.25kg/5lb piece of boned belly pork.
- 2 carrots, sliced lengthways into quarters.
- 1 large onion, thickly sliced.
- 2 celery stalks, thickly sliced.
- 1 large leek, thickly sliced.
- 800ml (1 1/3 pints) chicken stock.
- 600ml (1 pint) white wine.
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
For the apple sauce:
- 6 dessert apples peeled, cored and sliced.
- 50g (2oz) caster sugar.
- Large knob of butter.
- Juice of ½ lemon.
For the baked cabbage:
- 1 small Savoy cabbage.
- 1 streaky bacon rasher.
- Large knob of butter.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
- Score the rind of the pork with a very sharp knife, being careful not to cut right through the fat to the meat.
- Place the pork in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.
- Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 40 minutes, then drain and pat dry well.
- Place the carrots, onion, celery and leek in a large roasting tin and put the pork on top, skin-side up.
- Pour 100ml/3½fl oz of the chicken stock into the tin, place in the oven and roast for 10 minutes.
- Turn the oven down to 140C/275F/gas mark 1 and cook for 3 hours.
- If the crackling browns too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of foil.
For the apple sauce:
- Place the apple slices in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water, then cover and cook gently until soft and pulpy.
- Beat them to make a smooth sauce, adding the sugar, butter and lemon juice to taste.
For the cabbage:
- Remove the outside leaves and trim the core.
- Cut out a small piece from the top of the cabbage and insert the bacon, butter and a little seasoning.
- Wrap tightly in foil and place in the oven with the pork for the last hour of cooking.
- When ready to serve, remove the pork from the roasting tin and leave to rest in a warm place.
- Place the roasting tin on the hob.
- Heat gently, scraping up all the caramelised vegetables and meat from the bottom of the tin.
- Add the white wine and simmer rapidly until reduced by half.
- Pour in the remaining stock and simmer for a further 5 minutes, pressing the vegetables to a pulp, to make a gravy.
- Strain though a fine sieve and adjust the seasoning.
- Slice the pork, cut the cabbage into wedges and serve with the apple sauce and gravy.