Something for the Weekend

Loin of Pork with Apricot and Stuffed Apples

Served with potato and celeriac mash and roast carrots.

1kg loin of pork, crackling removed

400g ready to eat apricots, halved

50g butter

12 fresh sage leaves

6 cooking apples

Salt and freshly ground pepper

400g white potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

400g celeriac, peeled and cut into chunks

500g large carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces

1 tsp caraway seeds

Butter for potato mash

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Take 6 sage leaves, Wrap each leaf around an apricot half. Make incisions in the pork and insert the apricot and sage. Rub the surface of the pork with butter and leave overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2

Peel and core the apples and stuff the centre of each apple with apricot wrapped in sage leaf, top each one with a knob of butter. Bake for 1 hour then keep warm until the pork is cooked. (if you have 2 ovens the pork and apples can be be cooked at the same time.

Turn the oven up to 220C/425F/ Gas 7

Place the carrots in an ovenproof dish and coat them with olive oil. Sprinkle on the caraway seeds.

Roast the pork in the oven for 1 hour, basting regularly. Season with salt and pepper halfway through cooking. After 30 minutes add the dish of carrots to the oven.

Boil the potato and celeriac in salted water for 20 minutes until tender. Drain and mash with butter and a little warm milk. Check the seasoning.

Slice the pork and serve with 1 apple per person, roast carrot and the mash. Drizzle with meat juices.