Pork is my favourite roast. The smell of it cooking always brings back memories of my home, where a celebration like a birthday was always made special with roast pork, crisp crackling, homemade apple sauce and plenty of gravy and roasted potatoes. This cut of pork is easy to stuff and carve and delicious the next day served warmed with gravy between thick slices of toasted bread. Enjoy with spiced mandarins and roasted vegetables like yams, baby carrots and shallots.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 shallots, or ½ onion, finely chopped
• 4 rashers of chopped bacon, without the rind
• 70 gram packet walnuts, finely chopped
• grated rind of one orange
• 1 tablespoon chopped marjoram or thyme
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 kilogram pice of roast loin pork, well trimmed of fat
• Glaze
• juice of one orange
• ¼ cup vodka
• ¼ cup cider honey
• Gravy
• 50 grams butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon mustard

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the shallots and bacon for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time until softened. Add the walnuts and cook a further 2-3 minutes to slightly toast the nuts. Add the orange rind and herbs. Season well with freshly ground black pepper (optional). Leave to cool.
2. Using a long knife, cut a pocket right through the length of the meaty middle part of the loin. Twist the knife to make a pocket large enough to take in all the stuffing. Carefully and firmly push the stuffing into the centre.
3. Score the fat with a knife into a criss-cross or slice pattern.
4. In a large dish mix together the orange juice, vodka and honey. Place the pork fat side down into the dish and then leave to marinate for as long as you can, preferably overnight.
5. Place the pork into a small baking dish (one that just takes the meat) and pour over the marinade. Add half a cup of water and cover with foil.
6. Bake at 160ºC for 1½ hours. Remove the foil, drain away the liquid and then increase the temperature to 200ºC, cooking a further 30-40 minutes until the fat is crispy and golden. Baste occasionally with the reserved liquid.
7. Leave to stand for 10 minutes while you prepare the gravy.
8. Heat the butter in the roasting pan and add the flour.
9. Cook 2 minutes until frothy. Add the reserved liquid and stir over a low heat for about 5 minutes until the gravy is thick. Season with the mustard and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with roasted vegetables like yams, carrots, shallots and spiced mandarins.