James Martin Pork Joint Food

JAMES MARTIN'S PORK LOIN WITH MUSHROOM, BRANDY SAUCE AND FRIES

Steps:

• Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add one tablespoon of the olive oil and half the butter. Season the pork slices and fry on each side for three minutes or until browned, then put it on a baking tray and keep warm in a low oven.
• Place the pan back on the hob over a high heat, adding a little more oil, if necessary, and the remaining butter, and tip in shallots, onions and pancetta. Fry for one to two minutes or until the onions are softened and the pancetta is crispy, then add the mushrooms and cook for a further minute.
• Pour in the brandy and carefully set alight, allowing the alcohol to flambé until the flame goes out. Pour in the stock and simmer for one to two minutes, then stir in the cream and mustard, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• If using a deep-fat fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 190°C. Alternatively, fill a deep, heavy-based saucepan to one-third with oil and use a sugar thermometer to check the temperature. (Take great care if using a saucepan: always watch over it and never fill it more than a third as the hot fat may bubble up when the potatoes are added.)
• Fry the potatoes in the hot oil for three to four minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper, then season with salt and pepper.
• Reheat the sauce gently, stirring in the parsley, then divide the pork slices between plates, pour over the sauce and serve with the straw fries on the side.Recipe, James Martin for the Mushroom Bureau

SLOW-ROAST PORK WITH APPLES & PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Sit the pork on a sheet of foil in a roasting tin. Mix the butter, sugar and mustard with 2 tsp salt, rub all over the top and ends of the joint (or joints), then scrunch up the foil to seal tightly in a parcel.
• Mix the onions and apples in a large, shallow roasting tin. Scatter the peppers over the top and poke in some bay leaves. Mix the vinegar, oil, mustard and sugar with 100ml water and drizzle over everything. Roast the pork for 3½ hrs while you cook the peppers on the shelf below for the first 2 hrs. When you remove the apples and peppers after 2 hrs, set aside and put the Salt-baked potatoes (see 'Goes well with', right) into the oven underneath the pork instead.
• After 3 hrs, unwrap the foil from the pork. Scrape any mustard mixture stuck to the foil back onto the pork, sit it and any juices back in the tin and increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roast for 30-45 mins more until the skin is brown and crisping. Remove the pork from the oven, cover and rest for 20 mins while you put the peppers back on the top shelf for 20 mins to finish. Serve the pork thickly sliced alongside the apples and peppers, with any tin juices poured over.