Pork Roast with Apples and Cider Gravy

Succulent pork joint served with apples and cider gravy.

For the first time EVER my Dad has let go of the reins and let me cook the Sunday roast! Now if you don’t know my Dad, you probably don’t know just how much of a big deal this is!!! Dad has ALWAYS done the roast. I think my Mum has only been forced to do it a few times when he’s been ill. When he was flat out with a bad back for 6 months rather than let anyone else attempt to do the Sunday Dinner...we just didn’t have one! FOR 6 MONTHS! That’s how much of a big deal this is...Dad does roasts. End of.

Yet, this week as we were wandering down the aisles of our local Sainsbury’s I convinced him to let me choose everything from the veg (on in this case fruit) and the joint of meat. Once I’d put it all in the trolley he finally uttered those words I’d longed to hear... “Do you want to COOK the roast this week?” YES! YES I DO! So that was it, I was officially in charge of cooking the Sunday dinner.

Now, to complicate things, we rarely buy pork as it’s my Mum and sister’s least favourite meat. So I not only had to cook a flawless roast (which I’ve never even attempted before) but I had to convince my Mum that pork can be delicious and not just full of fat.

It sounds rather cliché matching pork with apples (and therefore cider) but some flavour combinations are just meant to be, so I decided not to mess with the classics, but to simply try and refine what is really quite a simple recipe. The idea is that with a hint of the apple’s sweetness, you let the pork truly shine. And, with a good bit of crackling on the side I believe that this recipe will win over even the most reluctant pork eaters. My Mum included.

The full roast served with all of the trimmings, and lashings of cider gravy.

One of the things I really wanted to get right with the roast dinner was my timings. Roasts are notorious for taking FOREVER and it’s a running joke in my family that if you ever ask Dad how long until dinner on a Sunday, he will simply reply “not long now”. This could mean anything form 5mins for another 45... I didn’t want to fall into that trap – not least because I had a date with some reindeers at a local Christmas Fair that afternoon.

My crazy organisational tendencies meant that I broke it down into a little table to work out how long everything would take and where in the oven it would go so that nothing could come as a surprise! And, I’m pleased to say it worked. So, instead of doing a normal written method for this dish, I’ve decided to share the table. I’ve included a list of ingredients, but feel free to add any vegetables you want!