Christmas Pork Roast should be dressed up to show up. So there must be some bling, some color and a little drama!

My Christmas Pork roast had to fall into line with my other Christmas recipes……. no effort and delicious. 2016 was a very tough year!

So what is more Christmassy than cranberries, cherries, gammon(pork) and good cheer? There are quite a few recipes for cooking pork in either ginger ale, Coke or ginger beer. Those option are all ok for Christmas, but it has been done, so I wanted to try something a little different. So this is where the drama comes in. I reckoned that if I cook the pork in cranberry juice, the outside of the pork will be red and sticky, while the inside will be tender and delicious.

Before I go to the recipe, I just want to say (with shame face in palm), I don’t like gammon. I really don’t know why, I just don’t. So my pork is fresh, not cured or smoked.

As a consumer I am delighted to know that I can now buy High Quality South African Pork from Food Lover’s Market. ( Watch video here.) “Pork 360 is a quality assurance certification. It is a guarantee to both the consumer and retailing sector that the producer has a consistent production process. A process that complies with minimum standards and ensures high-quality pork. The Pork 360 projects takes place under the auspices of the national body, SAPPO (South African Pork Producers Association).”

Why Pork 360? It is your guarantee that:

The pork was responsibly sourced.
The pork is premium quality.
It is healthy and delicious.
The pork carries a stamp of assurance and traceability.

Pork Lovers like me can buy Pork 360 exclusively at Food Lover’s Market.

Christmas Pork Roast

serves 8 (+ leftovers)

Ingredients

2 – 3 kg pork roast – ask the butcher at your Food Lover’s Market to score the fat for you

15-20 ml salt

pepper

1 star anise (optional)

3 cloves

a handful fresh thyme sprigs

1 liter cranberry juice

water if needed

fresh fruit – plums, nectarines, cherries, red currents, cranberries etc

fresh herbs to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180 C. Season meat with salt, pepper and thyme, really work the spices into the cuts in the fat. Place in a oven casserole, add the cranberry juice and about 250 ml water. Cover with a lid or foil and cook in the oven for 3-4 hours or until the meat is tender. Pour the juices from the pan into a small pot, add water (if necessary) and reduce until sticky. Remove the lid or foil and roast until the skin is golden brown and beautiful. For the last 10 minutes of the roasting time, place some of the fruit on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven.

To serve, glaze the pork with some of the cranberry reduction, add the fruit ( roasted and fresh) and serve with roast potatoes, mustard and some green beans. Simple, yet delicious!

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