The perfect roast - and you would want to have the perfect crackling too no doubt. Crackling is notoriously difficult to achieve, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t and there’s no apparent rhyme or reason to it. Ben’s advice is to remove the skin and cook it separately to be absolutely sure that it’s going to work. If you feel uneasy about doing that and would prefer to leave it on then try scalding the rind and drying completely before cooking is your best bet - this is an orientally inspired tip. Pat dry completely, rub with salt and cook at a high temperature, 220°C, for half an hour and then drop the temperature to 180°C for the rest of cooking time. Choose small apples for stuffing so that they sit nicely with the pork when served - Cox would be my choice, firm enough not to collapse in the oven.

Ingredients - serves 6

1.6kg pork loin, skin scored
1 onion, cut into quarters
2 cloves garlic
sprig of sage
olive oil
salt, pepper

for the apples:
6 small Cox’s or similar
3 shallots, peeled & chopped
2cm cube of peeled root ginger, finely grated
6 sage leaves, finely chopped
25g butter
salt, pepper
for the cider gravy
1 tbsp plain flour
250 ml cider + 150ml chicken stock
salt, pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C
Carefully, and slowly, pour boiling water over the rind of your loin of pork joint - this tightens the skin. Now pat dry with kitchen towel and sit in a roasting tray. Brush the rind with a small amount of olive oil and season with sea salt. Roast for half and hour and then lower the oven temperature to 180°C. Lift the roasting tray out and add the onion, cloves of garlic and sage sprig to the pan around the meat and return to roasting for a further hour and a half, or until cooked through completely.

Core the apples and leave the skin on, making a cross cut across the top of each apple. Mix together chopped shallot, sage, and grated ginger together with light seasoning of salt and pepper. Stuff into the centre of the apples and sit in a baking tray. Divide the butter between the apples, pressing it into the centre of each. Place in the oven 40-45 minutes before end of the pork’s roasting time.

Move the joint to a warm place and spoon away excess fat from the pan then stir in the flour. Over low heat add the cider/stock and scrape around the juices to incorporate into a sauce, strain & season to taste.

Carve pork into thick chops, serve with a baked apple , cider sauce, potatoes and vegetables.