Rack of pork with two apples, lemon grass and ginger

A lovely Sunday lunch or dinner dish, combining hearty pork meat with apples and adding an Asian touch. Because of the apples, I could not resist using some cider.

Ingredients

• 500 grammes of boned rack of pork (or shoulder) tied up as a roast
• Four Granny Smith apples
• Four Boskoop apples
• Two sticks of lemon grass
• Five cm of fresh ginger
• A bottle of cider
• Salted butter
• Olive oil
• Pepper
• Cinnamon

Steps

1. Melt butter and oil in a heavy casserole.
2. Brown the roast of pork on all sides.
3. Slice lemon grass and ginger finely and add to the pan.
4. Add a third of the cider, put lid on the pan and cook for 30 minutes, turning the meat regularly.
5. Peel and cut the two kinds of apple in eight, do not mix.
6. Put on the oven.
7. After the 30 minutes have passed, add the Granny Smith apples to the casserole, mix through the pan, add some more cider if needed.
8. Put the lid back for another half an hour, turning regularly and adding cider if needed.
9. Lay the other apple slices on an oven-proof tray and sprinkle with cinnamon.
10. Put in oven at 150 °C, turn from time to time.
11. At the end of the second half hour, take the meat out of the casserole and put aside, add some pepper and salt to taste.
12. Cover the meat with foil or a lid if the kitchen is cold so that the roast does not cool down too rapidly.
13. Drain the apple, lemon grass and ginger from the casserole with either a slotted spoon or by passing the casserole content through a colander and collecting the juice.
14. Boil down the juice in the casserole, put the apple mix in a blender.
15. Add the remaining juice to the apples on the tray in the oven.
16. Slice the meat.
17. On a serving dish, put a layer of the apple sauce, then the slices of pork and add the apple parts.
18. Serve immediately or keep at low heat in the oven.