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    Roasted rack of pork with apples and pears

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    *mandatory

    Roasted rack of pork with apples and pears

    • Gluten Free
    • Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus resting
    • Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes
    • Total time: 2 hours, plus resting

    Serves: 4

    Ingredients

    1kg rack of pork
    flaky sea salt, to season

    APPLE AND PEAR SAUCE
    1 bramley apple (about 250g)
    2 pears (about 350g)
    50g golden caster sugar
    20g fresh root ginger, finely grated
    2 star anise
    100ml dry cider
    30g unsalted butter 

    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 240˚C, gas mark 8. Go over the scores in the skin of the pork with a sharp knife, creating a few more if you like, and then rub flaky sea salt into the cuts; you don’t want too much, just enough to season it. Place the pork on a rack in a roasting tin and roast for 20-30 minutes; you need this fi rst blast of heat to help the crackling get an initial crisp. Once the skin has puffed up and starts to turn golden, reduce the heat to 160˚C, gas mark 3, and cook for a further 1 hour 10 minutes, or until the meat is completely cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes, loosely covered with foil.

    2. Meanwhile, make the apple and pear sauce. Put the apple, pear, sugar, ginger, star anise and cider in a heavy-based pan. Cover, place over a medium heat and cook until the fruit becomes soft and starts to break down (about 5-7 minutes). Uncover and lightly reduce the liquid until thickened slightly and the apples and pears are very tender. Remove from the heat, season and add the butter, roughly crushing with a fork. (You can blend the sauce if you prefer it smooth – just remember to take out the star anise.) Set aside until ready to serve.

    3. Remove the string from the pork carefully, trying to keep the crackling intact. You can serve the crackling one of two ways: either carve straight through the crackling and the loin and serve it all together. Or, with a sharp knife, remove the whole piece of crackling in one go, break it up and serve on the side. Serve the pork and crackling with the sauce, plus some savoy cabbage (page 70) and a dollop of mustard, if liked. 

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    This recipe first appeared in Waitrose Food, November 2017 issue. Download the Waitrose Food app for the full issue.

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