PORK AND CRANBERRY POT ROAST

As soon as fresh cranberries appear in the shops in December I
buy them two or three bags at a time and use some/freeze some
until they disappear straight after Christmas, so the cranberries in
this recipe will have already been stewed and sweetened into a kind
of purée. (See Deep-Fried Camembert with Cranberry Sauce in
Chapter 4, ‘For Starters, mains and just desserts’.) You can either
make the cranberry purée first or use them straight from the
packet, adding a couple of extra tablespoons of sugar (and maybe
a spoonful of honey or golden syrup) to the sauce with the
tomatoes at Stage 5.
Serves 4
1 small shoulder of pork
Carrots
Baby onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Tomato purée
Cranberry purée or 1 packet (approx 300 g/1⁄2 lb+) of fresh
cranberries
1 tbsp sugar
Oil
Method
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2–3 (160–170ºC); scrape the
carrots and chop into large chunks, peel the baby onions and if
they’re not quite small enough, cut them in half.
2. Warm some oil in a large pan and fry the carrots, onions and
garlic for a few minutes over a very high heat until the onions
are slightly softer and just beginning to brown.
3. Transfer the vegetables to a very large casserole dish with a
slotted spoon then add a little more oil to the pan and stir in the
sugar.
4. Put the pork shoulder into the pan and seal the meat using a
large spoon and fork to turn the joint over so it browns quickly
on all sides, then put the pork in the casserole dish with the
vegetables.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée and cranberries
(with extra sugar if necessary) to the pan, stirring well to
incorporate any residue from the meat into the sauce.
6. Pour the sauce over and around the meat and vegetables in the
casserole dish, cover with a lid and cook in the middle of the
oven for a minimum 21⁄2–3 hours until the meat is completely
tender.
Tip
Some fruits work well in pot roasts – dried or tinned
apricots and prunes, apples, or fruit purées (see Pork and
Cranberry Pot Roast above) – because they add flavour and
the acid in the fruit helps to tenderize the meat.