The roast is resting – those precious 20 minutes after the Sunday joint and its crackling are taken from the oven and left to sit quietly before we carve. The roasting tin may no longer hold the meat, but there is much treasure there to plunder. We could make a simple gravy, and I usually do, dissolving the good things left by the roast into wine, stock or Marsala. But today I use it for something more substantial altogether.
What lies beneath the meat? Caramelised sugars mostly, sweet, gooey and firmly attached to the roasting tin. It is the concentrated essence of the meat, some charred herbs, sizzling fat, a sticky smudge of roasted garlic. A little magic perhaps. To waste it would be a crime.
I pour batter into the roasting tin. It will take 25 minutes in a hot oven, time enough to rest the meat and carve. But there is more to it than that. I have tossed some diced apple, softened first with a few thyme leaves, into the pan. The little cubes of apple sit in the batter, holding it down a bit, soaking up the juices and savour left behind by the pork. It arrives at the table a little late, slightly eccentric looking, but dark and golden, its surface all pits and furrows of batter and fruit, smelling of roast pork and herbs. I could have cooked the batter pudding separately, all spick and span like a clafoutis without the sugar, but that would be to miss out on the opportunity of using the good things left in the roasting tin; of exploring what lies beneath.
Pork belly with apple and roast potatoes
I ask my local butcher to leave the skin on the belly, but to score it in lines about 2cm apart or in a lattice pattern, whichever he thinks will produce the crispest crackling.
Serves 6
belly pork 1.5 kg, boned weight, skin scored
new potatoes 500g
olive oil 3 tbsp
rosemary 3 large sprigs
garlic 4 cloves
Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 8. Place the pork belly flat on the work surface, skin side down, then slice it horizontally, cutting almost all the way through, to give a large hinged flap. Season generously inside and out.
Put a pan of water on to boil and salt it. Wash the potatoes, but don’t feel the need to peel them. Cut each potato into three or four “coins” then lower them into the boiling water. When the potatoes are tender to the point of a knife, drain them carefully and tip them into a bowl.
Pour the olive oil over the potatoes, pull a few of the needles from the rosemary and add to the potatoes with a grinding of salt and black pepper. Place the pork in a roasting tin. Lay the potatoes, as near as possible in a single layer, in between the two layers of pork. Tuck the remaining sprigs of rosemary and the cloves of garlic amongst the potatoes. Pull the top flap of meat over the potatoes, then place in the oven and leave to sizzle for about 25 minutes.
Lower the heat to 180C/gas mark 4, then leave the pork to cook for about an hour and a half, basting occasionally. During this time the potatoes will soften and soak up some of the juices and fat from the meat.
Remove the pork from the oven, check the potatoes are fully tender, then remove from the tin and cover lightly with foil and leave to rest in a warm place. Serve the pork as it is, carving in thick strips, or utilise the roasting tin and its fat with the recipe below.
Pork dripping apple batter pudding
Serve this with the pork recipe above. The sweet, dark crust left behind after the pork has been taken out of the pan is what gives this batter pudding its deep savour, but you can make it from scratch if you prefer. Use oil or lard, not butter, which would burn in the high oven heat, getting it very hot before you add the batter. Do make sure to cook the apples first, they should be soft and golden. If you wish, serve it separately, after the roast and vegetables, giving it a course all to itself.
Serves 6
apples 3 large, such as Cox
olive oil 2 tbsp
lemon half of one
for the batter
plain flour 125g
eggs 2
milk 150ml
water 150ml
thyme leaves 1 tbsp
Turn the oven up to 220C/gas mark 8. Halve and core the apples and cut them into small dice, roughly 1cm square. Warm the olive oil, then add the apples and fry them, over a gentle heat, for about 8-10 minutes until tender but not soft. They should be a nice even golden colour. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
Make the batter by tipping the flour into a mixing bowl, add the eggs and the milk and whisk lightly. Nothing will come from beating too much. Then beat in the water and stir in the thyme leaves and some salt and pepper.
Lift the apples from the pan with a draining spoon and into the roasting tin, then place in the oven for a few minutes to heat thoroughly. When the fat is warm and the apples quietly sizzling, pour in the batter and return to the oven for 20 minutes, by which time the batter will have risen and turned golden brown. Don’t expect it to rise as high as a Yorkshire pudding, as the apples will prevent that.
Pudding ready and meat rested, you can either serve them together, or bring the pudding to the table a few minutes after the meat.
Follow the Observer Magazine on Twitter @ObsMagazine
