here you go:
Balsamic-baked onions and potatoes with roast pork
Serves 6
This dish has attitude - it uses a lot of balsamic vinegar but, trust me, it works really well. The onions and potatoes are baked in the vinegar, making them crispy, dark, sticky and sweet. I've chosen to serve them with roast pork, but beef or lamb works just as well. I prefer red onions for their colour and sweetness.
# 1.5kg medium-size waxy potatoes (such as Charlotte), peeled and quartered lengthways
# sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
# olive oil
# 200g butter, cubed
# a bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
# 1 whole bulb of garlic, quartered or smashed
# 5 medium red onions, peeled and quartered
# 350ml cheap balsamic vinegar
# for the pork a small bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
# 2 tbsp freshly ground fennel seeds
# 1.5kg boneless rolled pork loin, preferably free-range or organic, skin off, fat scored in a criss-cross pattern
# olive oil
# 6 cloves of garlic, crushed1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
# 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
# 4 bay leaves
# 2 wineglasses of white wine
# extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Put the potatoes into a pan of boiling, salted water and cook for about eight minutes, then drain and return to the pan. Chuff them up a bit by shaking the pan.
To prepare the meat, scatter a handful of finely chopped rosemary leaves over a large chopping board. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and the ground fennel seeds. Roll the pork across the board, pressing down hard so all the flavourings stick to it.
Get a large roasting tray into which your pork will fit snugly, and place it on a hob over a medium-high heat. Pour in a little olive oil and place the pork in, fat side down, sprinkled with any flavourings remaining on the board. After a few minutes, when the pork fat is lightly golden, turn it over and add the garlic cloves, onion, celery and bay leaves to the tray. Place on the bottom shelf of your preheated oven for an hour, basting it halfway through. (For the last 20 minutes of cooking, you might need to cover the pork with a bit of damp greaseproof paper to stop it colouring too much.)
Get another roasting tray, into which you can fit the potatoes in one layer, and heat it on the hob. When hot, pour a glug of olive oil into it and add the butter, rosemary and garlic. Add the potatoes and toss them in all the flavours. Add the onions and all the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes on the hob to reduce the balsamic vinegar a little. Place the tray on the top shelf and cook for about 50 minutes, until the potatoes and onions are dark, sticky and crispy - removing the tray to toss the onions and potatoes halfway through. After an hour, the meat should be cooked. ***** it with a sharp knife - if the juices run clear, it's done; if not, pop it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes, keeping the potatoes warm.
Remove it from the oven and let it rest on a plate for 10 minutes. Pour away most of the fat from the tray and mash up the garlic and onion. Place the tray over the hob and add the wine. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, scraping all the meaty, marmitey goodness off the bottom to make a tasty sauce, and season if necessary. Pass through a sieve into a serving jug. Then slice the pork and serve it with your incredible baked onions and potatoes, drizzled with the pan juices. Great with some nice greens or a rocket salad.
