Pork tonight

It was a chilly start today. We’d nipped out early as I wanted to collect some pork from the butchers which I’d ordered for our chambre d’hôte guests tonight.

I’m going to make a slow roasted pork dish with fennel, it is rather tasty and a great recipe to pop in the oven in the afternoon and leave to cook slowly.

You need a very sharp knife to score the skin, then you salt it well and sprinkle on some pepper and fennel seeds. I then sear the skin lightly and add some spices to the pan; bay leaves, star anise, cardamom, garlic and some fresh fennel. Without getting the skin wet, pour in about 400ml of white wine and 600 ml of chicken stock. It depends on the size of your pan. The liquid needs to come just up to the layer of fat, but not over the skin. Get the liquid to boiling on the stove. Then place in the oven at 180°c for 2½ hours. You will have beautiful tender pork to enjoy with crispy crackling.