Roast pork loin with Jersey Royals, asparagus and morels
This makes a perfect Sunday lunch for spring or summer, with boiled Jersey Royals and asparagus replacing the traditional roast vegetables.
Ingredients
For the pork loin
- 1kg/2lb 4oz pork loin on the bone, skin on and scored
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- ½ lemon
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 12 sage leaves
- 1 head garlic, broken into cloves
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Jersey Royals
For the asparagus and morels
- 8 asparagus, spears thinly shredded using a peeler and tips reserved
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 55g/2oz unsalted butter
- 8 fresh morel mushrooms (or dried, rinsed and soaked in warm water)
- salt
For the mustard vinaigrette
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp light olive or rapeseed oil
- 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
Method
For the pork loin, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Rub the pork skin with the oil, salt and pepper. Squeeze the lemon half over the skin. Place the onion, celery, sage and garlic cloves in a roasting pan. Sit the meat on top and add 2.5cm/1in of hot water to the bottom of the pan. Roast for 30 minutes and then increase the oven temperature to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Roast for another 30–45 minutes or until cooked through (test by sticking a skewer into the centre of the meat and check the juices are clear with no traces of pink). Leave to rest for at least 15 minutes and reserve 3 tablespoons of the pork resting juices to use in the vinaigrette later.
Meanwhile for the Jersey Royals, bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the potatoes, salt and bay leaf. Gently simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain, leave to cool slightly and then cut the potatoes into thick slices.
For the asparagus and morels, place the shredded asparagus in a small bowl and sprinkle over some salt and the vinegar. Leave to pickle for 5 minutes. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and fry the asparagus tips and morels for 5 minutes, or until cooked.
Place all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a small jug and add in the reserved pork resting juices. Whisk to combine.
To serve, remove the crackling in one piece (if it's not crispy enough then return it to the oven for 5–10 minutes). Cut the loin off the bone in one piece. Carve the meat into thin slices and chop the crackling into small pieces. Serve the meat, crackling, potato slices, asparagus tips and morels on warmed plates and scatter over the shredded asparagus. Dress with the vinaigrette and some more meat juices and serve.