ROAST PORK WITH PRUNE, PINE NUT AND SPINACH STUFFING
(serves four to six)
1 pork fillet
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 smoked streaky rashers, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
150g bag baby spinach
130g stoned and chopped prunes
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
salt and pepper
4-6 slices Parma ham
8-10 shallots, peeled
Big knob of butter
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas four. Slice the pork fillet in half lengthways, but not all the way through. Put it between two sheets of cling film and bash with a rolling pin to turn it into one large rectangle of flattened meat.
Sweat the onion in the olive oil till it is soft and then turn up the heat and add the rashers and fry till they are brown and crisp. Add the spinach, prunes and pine nuts and sauté till the spinach wilts. Keep the heat turned up so that any water from the spinach evaporates. Season and set aside to cool.
Once the stuffing is completely cold, you can stuff the pork and leave it overnight, ready to cook. But if you are cooking it straight away then it’s all right to stuff the pork while the stuffing is still warm.
Spoon the stuffing in a straight line right down the middle of the pork, then roll up, and wrap the pork in the Parma ham. Tie at intervals with string and roast the joint in a roasting tray for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat up the butter and sweat the shallots in a saucepan until golden brown.
Take the pork out of the oven, add the buttery shallots to the roasting tray and smear the pork with the redcurrant jelly. Baste with the juices, season with black pepper and roast for about another 20 minutes. So, cook the pork for 40 minutes in total. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving with the shallots and pan juices.