MasterChef ’s John Torode serves up a memorable weekend lunch packed with spring flavours
WHAT’S ON THE MENU?
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Stuffed pork loin with lemon herb sauce
Savoy cabbage with walnuts & mushrooms
Delmonico potatoes
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Individual ginger puddings
Helpful hints to get ahead for lunch at 1pm
The day before
•Prepare the pork
•Make and cook the puddings in the morning
•Boil the potatoes, place in the baking dish
•Chop the cabbage and onion and set aside
12.10PM Fry the pork
12.20PM Put the pork and potatoes in the oven
12.50PM Fry the cabbage and make the sauce
1PM Turn down the oven and, when cooled, reheat the puddings
Stuffed pork loin with lemon herb sauce
■ Serves 6 with leftovers ■ Prep 20 mins ■ Cook 50 mins
1.5kg pork loin (bones, skin and excess fat removed) handful each of sage, oregano
and parsley leaves, roughly chopped
25g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 lemon, zested (keep the juice for the sauce)
2 tbsp olive oil
12-16 slices pancetta (see tip, opposite)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
FOR THE SAUCE
5 tbsp crème fraîche
1 lemon, juiced
100ml hot chicken stock handful of herbs (such as sage, oregano and parsley), chopped
1 Lay the pork on a chopping board. With a sharp knife, make an incision in the meat halfway down, running parallel to the board. Cut almost all the way through so that you can open up the piece of meat like a book. You can also get your butcher to do this for you. Season the inside.
2 Put the herbs, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and olive oil in a bowl, then mix together well. Rub the herb mix onto the opened-up piece of pork, being quite forceful. This will help to get the flavour and the seasoning evenly distributed. Then fold up the pork.
3 Unroll a piece of foil large enough to wrap the pork. Place 2 pancetta pieces on the foil to form a long strip. Then lay down 2 more pieces, slightly overlapping alongside. Continue until the pancetta is wide enough to cover the pork. Place the pork in the middle of the pancetta, then bring the pieces of foil-covered pancetta up and over the meat to enclose it completely. Make sure the pork is tightly rolled in the foil, then twist each end so the parcel is very tight, like a sausage. You can make up to this point one day in advance – store the meat in the fridge.
4 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put a heavy-based, large roasting tin over a high heat and add the vegetable oil. Put the foil parcel in the tin and cook, turning every 2 mins, so all parts of the parcel have contact with the heat. This will seal the outside and colour the outer layer of the meat. Then put into the oven and roast for 40 mins.
5 Remove the pork from the oven. Test that it is cooked by inserting a metal skewer through
