Roast Pork & Apricot Stuffing
Pork
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1.8-2kg/4 pound pork rib roast
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salt and pepper
Stuffing recipe*
From chef Hamish Watt of Botanic Gardens restaurant
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2 large onions finely chopped
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3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped (I used lemon thyme)
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3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
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50g butter
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½ cup dried Turkish apricots, finely chopped
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50ml/1.7 fl ozs. brandy
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400ml/13.5 fl ozs. cream
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300g/10 ozs. sourdough bread (crust off) cut into 2cm cubes
Start with great meat-I froze this pork roast from Haverick's and even though went over the 6 months recommended for freezing, it was still perfect
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Step 1 - Prepare the pork rind to make crackling by making sure that the rind is as dry as possible by pressing paper towels against the rind only. Score the rind on top with your sharpest knife and rub salt over the rind. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F.
Step 2 - Firstly make the stuffing. Place onions, thyme, garlic and butter into a pot and sweat off until onions are translucent and soft-don't hurry this the onions must be soft and lose all acridness. Add 1/2 cup dried apricots finely diced and sweat off for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with 50 ml brandy and cook for a minute then add the cream and bring to the boil. Add sourdough then turn heat down to low and place a lid on the pot, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes or until the bread has absorbed all the liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut out a bit of the centre so that you can stuff it with stuffing, keep the pork, it's delicious & tender and I used it in fried rice.
Step 3 - Using a sharp boning knife, cut a hole in the centre in the pork going all the way out to the other end. You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you can bake the stuffing in a separate dish. Fill in the centre with the stuffing but don't pack it too tight as it will expand (and I always pack it too tight). Bake it for 20 minutes to blister the skin.
Step 4 - Lower the heat to 180C/350F and then bake it still skin side up up for 45 minutes. Place the extra stuffing in a dish or molds and place in oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest under loosely covered foil. Slice and serve. It is fantastically good in sandwiches with some great mayonnaise.
*To make a low fat version of the stuffing you can substitute the cream for chicken or vegetable stock. I found it best when 300ml of stock was used and 100ml of cream just to finish it off and give it a richness.