Pic of Roast pork stuffed with chard, garlic and sage, and apple sauce

Roast pork stuffed with chard, garlic and sage, and apple sauce

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Pork & gammon

Roast pork stuffed with chard, garlic and sage, and apple sauce

Main Serves 4 2h
A delectable Sunday or celebratory dinner of roast pork and apple sauce. Follow these simple tips to get your crackling good and crispy. You can make the sauce ahead of time or while the pork is cooking and serve it at room temperature or gently reheated. You can also use spinach leaves instead of chard – just cut the initial blanching time down to a minute, as the leaves cook more quickly. Serve with roast potatoes and seasonal veg.

Ingredients

for the roast

  • 1kg pork roast (loin or spare rib), fat scored with a sharp knife, if not already done by your butcher
  • 125-150g chard leaves (from about 1 head of chard), tough stalks removed
  • 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped (or 1 tbsp dried)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

for the gravy

  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 100ml white wine or cider
  • 600ml veg stock or water

for the apple sauce

  • 25g butter
  • 450g apples, peeled, cored and diced
  • ½ tsp lemon zest, finely grated
  • 3 tbsp cider or water
  • 1 tbsp caster or light brown sugar
  • salt and pepper

Method

Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 1h 45 min

main

  • Step 1

    Preheat oven to 240°C/Gas 9.

Prepare the roast

  • Step 1

    In a large pan of boiling water, blanch the chard leaves for 4 minutes. Drain, plunge into a bowl of cold water, then drain again. Squeeze out any excess liquid.

  • Step 2

    Finely chop the leaves and put in a bowl. Stir in the garlic, sage and olive oil. Season.

  • Step 3

    Pour a little boiling water over the pork skin to open up the scored fat. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Turn the pork, skin side down. Cut a slit in the middle of the pork, approx ¾ of the way into the meat (follow the natural slit in the pork loin, if using).

  • Step 4

    Fill the cavity evenly with the chard mixture. Squeeze back together and use 4 pieces of string to tie the pork tightly together. Turn the right way up and sprinkle liberally with salt.

  • Step 5

    Place in a roasting tin and roast for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat to 190°C/Gas 5 and roast for another hour. Remove from oven.

  • Step 6

    If the crackling isn't crisp enough, take a sharp knife and cut away the fat from the meat in one piece – take care as it will be hot.

  • Step 7

    Put on a non-stick baking tray and continue to roast until crispy and golden brown. Meanwhile, wrap the meat in foil and leave to rest.

To make the gravy

  • Step 1

    put the roasting tin with the juices on the hob. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes, until you have a paste.

  • Step 2

    Add the wine and cook for another minute or so, stirring or whisking constantly to remove any lumps.

  • Step 3

    Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes to thicken the gravy. Season to taste.

To make the apple sauce

  • Step 1

    put all the ingredients in a pan and gently cook, stirring every now and then, until the apples are soft. Mash lightly with a fork or potato masher.