Pork leg roast with red cabbage
Beef
Pork leg roast with red cabbage
These days braised red cabbage is considered very seventies, but like chicken Kiev it's due for a revival. With its sweet and sour taste, it is often a surprising hit with children. It also keeps well, so make double and enjoy the rest with some sausages later in the week.
Ingredients
- 1kg pork leg
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 50g lard, goose fat, beef dripping or butter
- 1 red cabbage, quartered, cored and shredded
- 3 tbsp cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 250ml stock
- 2 Bramley apples, grated
- 1 tbsp flour
- 4 tbsp crème fraîche
- 1 tsp English mustard powder.
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Score the pork fat with a sharp knife and pat dry with kitchen paper. Cook the joint for 45 minutes and then at 180°C/Gas 4 for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn up the temperature to maximum.
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Step 2
Peel off the crackling using a sharp knife (take care as it will be hot - use a carving fork or clean tea towel to hold it) and put it back in the oven until it is really blistered. Meanwhile, cover the meat and leave it to rest.
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Step 3
The cabbage can be done in advance of cooking the pork. In a heavy saucepan, gently sauté the onion in the fat for 10 minutes, add the cabbage, vinegar, sugar and stock, put the lid on and cook in a 140°C/Gas Mark 1 oven for 2 hours. Remove and stir in the grated apple.
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Step 4
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the crème fraîche and mustard powder. Mix in the red cabbage (1 ladle at a time). Return it all to the saucepan and cook on the hob for another 10 minutes (more if it has cooled down) over a gentle heat. Check the seasoning - hopefully the acidity of the grated apple will come through - and the cabbage will be lusciously creamy. Serve with the roast joint and cracking.
