Serves 6. Takes two hours plus soaking prunes
A very tasty pork roast, rich and juicy, fragrant and filling. It can also be done with pork neck fillet, one of those 'forgotten cuts' that's coming back into favour. It's a cheap, but wonderfully succulent cut that works incredibly well in this recipe.
24 Agen prunes, pitted
6 tbsps Armagnac or Cognac or Brandy
1kg pork loin with rind, or 1kg of rolled pork neck flllet
15g unsalted butter
1 tbsps oil
1 large beef tomato, pricked all the way around with a fork
200ml beef stock or Vegetable Nage or Stock
- Soak the prunes in Armagnac for 6 hours
- Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas mark 4.
- Open up the pork loin, flatten it and trim off any rind to leave 2-3mm of fat. Lay the meat fat side down and place 10 soaked prunes along the middle. Roll up the loin, secure both ends tightly with skewers and then tie up with string. Remove the skewers
- Put a small roasting tray on a medium heat. Add the butter and oil and heat until foaming. Gently brown the pork loin on all sides. Add the tomato and cover with foil.
- Cook in oven for about an hour and a half, checking it a couple of times
- Remove the pork (it should be medium rare) and wrap it up in the foil. Let it rest for two minutes
- Squish the tomato so the juices run from it, then decant and sieve the gravy from the baking tray into a heat proof jug. Discard the tomato, then put the baking tray on a medium burner or ring, and add the stock. When boiling, add the sieved juices and the remaining prunes. Season, and keep warm.
- Unwrap pork and carve into thin slices. Place on plates and pour over sauce and prunes. Serve with mash and fresh greens