Recipe|Roast Rack of Pork with Sage

This month’s recipe is my favourite Winter Warmer: Roast Rack of Pork with Sage, mustard and lemon crust. We say in French ‘tout est bon dans le cochon’ which means everything is good in the pig. Every part of the animal is eaten: from trotters to the tripe sausage andouillette. Pork has been a staple in French cuisine, valued for its availability and preservability, such as salting, smoking and curing.

In this recipe, I have chosen a Rack of Pork where crackling is the highlight of the dish. To really get a good crackling, try and rub the salt, thyme and lemon juice into the rind a good hour or two before cooking and keep the meat out of the fridge. Serve 6.

Ingredients

• 1,5kg rack of pork
• 20 sage leaves
• 2 lemons, peel cut into 20 small pieces
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• 2 sprigs of lemon thyme
• 1 lemon juice
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 700ml chicken stock
• 500ml water
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Make several incisions in the rind and flesh of the pork. Insert a sage leaf and one piece of lemon peel in each of them. Mix the sea salt and leaves from the thyme sprigs and massage them into the pork rind. Pour le lemon juice over the top and leave to marinate for two hours. Cover it with kitchen foil.
• Put the rack of pork in a roasting rating tray in a preheated oven at 220C, gas mark 8 for 30 minutes. The rind should start to bubble and crackle.
• Reduce the temperature to 170C, gas mark 3, and add the onions and carrots with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, chicken stock and season. Mix well and roast for another 50 minutes.
• Check if it is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes, covered with kitchen foil.
• Blitz all the cooking juices and vegetables from the roasting pan in a food processor adding the water to obtain a jus. Pass through a fine sieve and reduce in a frying pan over medium heat until syrupy. Season to taste.
• Carve the pork into thin slices and serve with pieces of crackling. Pass the sauce around separately in a jug.
• Serve with roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables, or try our Potato and bacon Terrine.