Perfect pork

I invited my parents for Sunday lunch today and faced the daunting task of cooking the biggest piece of pork loin I had ever seen, which was given to me by my dad. To be honest I had not cooked a joint of this size before, well apart from the 16lb turkey on Christmas Day so I was a bit worried about how long I should cook it for.

To try and prevent the joint from becoming dry, I decided to drizzle olive oil over the meat and then trickled honey over the top of it. Before I put it in the oven I chopped up two eating apples and place them on top of the pork.

I put the meat into the oven on 180 degrees for two-and-a-half hours and it was just perfect. It was very tender and had a subtle flavour of honey which was yummy. I also served the meat with the apples which were very soft and accompanied the meat perfectly.

The pork was served with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, steamed brussel sprouts, carrots and savoy cabbage. There is quite a large piece of pork left so I plan to use this for sandwiches tomorrow with stuffing. Yum yum.

Sunday Roast

Sunday is one of my favourite days of the week. Sunday to me means time with my other half and daughter, relaxing at home and of course a roast dinner.

I have always enjoyed Sunday lunch probably because my mum makes the best one and we have grown up enjoying time around the table eating good food and catching up with each others news. This is a tradition I want my daughter to grow up with, I think this time as a family is so important and special.

Today I have cooked roast beef, with roast potatoes, steamed leeks, brussel sprouts and carrots, Yorkshire puddings and gravy.

If anyone were to ask me what my top tips would be for a roast dinner it would be:

(1) To make the perfect roast potatoes, boil them for around 15 minutes and when draining them rough them up in the colander. Before putting them into hot oil, (I tend to use olive oil but on special occasions I use dripping) sprinkle some flour onto the potatoes this helps to make them lovely and crispy. Make sure the fat is really hot before putting your potatoes into the tin. If you want to add a Mediterranean flavour to your roast potatoes put about four whole garlic cloves into the roasting tin.

(2) Steam your vegetables if possible as it helps to keep the flavour and goodness.

(3) Always have a glass of wine at hand to help the chef when cooking. :0)

Anyway, the meal was well received and there is even some beef left for my other half to have on his sandwiches with horseradish sauce for work.

I am off now for another Sunday must, a brisk walk around the village to walk off that extra roast potato. Happy Sunday.