Stuffed pork loin with chorizo, thyme and caramelised apple stuffing
The caramelised apple, thyme and crispy chorizo run through the middle of each slice of pork, with a drizzle of the dark balsamic sauce on top. It's absolutely delicious with greens such as curly kale and nutty brown basmati rice.
Ingredients
- 1 pork loin (about 2kg/4½lb), bone removed, skin scored
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 apples, peeled, cored, diced
- 200g/7oz cooking chorizo, chopped
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced into a paste with 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 heaped tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the balsamic reduction
- 200ml/7fl oz balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp chipotle en adobo (from a jar, available in some supermarkets and speciality shops) or hot smoked paprika (pimentón picante)
- 1 tsp redcurrant jelly
- 200ml/7fl oz chicken stock
- string for tying the pork
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Season the pork on both sides with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.
Heat the butter in a large frying pan and add the apple pieces. Cook without stirring for a few minutes until the apples start to caramelise. Toss and cook for a few minutes more until caramelised all over. Remove the apple from the pan and set aside.
Add the chorizo to the same pan and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the onion and gently fry with the chorizo until it is soft and the chorizo is nicely coloured and crumbling. Add half the garlic and half the thyme, and cook for a further 30 seconds.
Drain the chorizo fat away from the mixture in the pan and mix in the caramelised apple. Spread this chorizo mixture onto the cut side of the pork(not the skin side), roll up and tie with string.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the pork on all sides. Smear the rest of the garlic and thyme into the crackling, seasoning it with salt and pepper. Place the pork in the oven and cook for about 1 hour 50 minutes-2 hours, basting the joint in its juices from time to time. Twenty minutes before the end of the cooking time, increase the heat to 210C/410F/Gas 6-7, to crisp the crackling.
For the balsamic reduction, heat the balsamic vinegar in a small pan and simmer to reduce to about 50ml/2fl oz. It will have a syrupy consistency.
When the pork is cooked, remove the meat from the pan and rest in a warm place for 15-20 minutes, covered with foil. Add the balsamic reduction to the same pan in which you cooked the pork. Add the chipotle en adobo or paprika, redcurrant jelly and chicken stock. Heat through and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve the pork in slightly overlapping slices arranged on a long plate, with a little of the sauce poured over along with the rest of the sauce served in a warm jug.