Love rainy day cooking...

There is something very comforting about waking up to grey skies, rain pounding on the tin roof, pulling the doona up and enjoying the cold weather. Hard to believe when only a week before it was nearly too hot to move, let alone sleep!

Our day started slowly and i decided it was the perfect morning to enjoy bacon and eggs with a yummy soy chai latte... it was going to be a slow kind of day.

I love rainy days, something about them makes me want to go a little slower and enjoy the cooking process a little more than normal, and nothing screams 'take your time' quite like a pork roast!

Here is my favourite roast pork recipe, Im finishing it tonight with grilled zuchinni, roast potato and sweet potato and a very yummy apple and onion gravy.

You'll need

For the Roast:
1x pork roast (I use a shoulder roll)
2 x apples (green or red, personal preference)
1 big onion
2 cups of water
1x tbsp of rosmary
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt and pepper.
olive oil.
paper towel


To prepare the roast:


preheat the oven to 250 degrees celcius.

1. Place the roast in a decent sized roasting pan and cut the string tying the roast together, you can leave it together if you like but I find that the crackling works better without it. score the skin down to the fat layer and rub dry with the paper towel, ensuring that you dry it very well, the drier the skin; the better the crackling will be. once you've finished drying the skin, rub some salt into the scores and all over the top of the roast. sprinkle on the rosmary and pepper and drizzle on a little bit of olive oil.
2. pour the water into the pan, making sure that you dont get it on the top of the roast.
3. slice up the onion and cut the apple into wedges and arrange around the pork. throw in the crushed garlic and place into the oven.
4. leave the pork in the oven at 250c for 30-40 minutes or until the skin starts to blister and colour.
5. peel and cut up the potatoes and coat in olive oil, salt and pepper and place into the oven.
6.  before you put the potatoes in (after 30-40 minutes0 reduce the oven to 180 degrees and cook both for a further 45-60 minutes depending on the weight and size of the roast. you'll know its done when the fluid runs clear when you insert a skewer.
7. once the roast is done, remove the pork from its juices and put on a plate. remove the crackle and then cover the roast with foil and set aside to rest.

To prepare the apple and onion gravy:

you'll need:

1 cup of water
1 stock cube (any flavour)
1 tbsp cornflour
salt and pepper to taste.

How to make the gravy:

1. remove the apple from the pan juices and put aside until you are ready to serve.
2. scrape down the sides of the pan with a spatula to remove the caramalisation from the sides. Pour the juices and onion into a saucepan and put on the heat to reduce.
3. pour in half of the water and add the stock cube, whisk until well combined.
4. once the gravy is reduced you can make a cornflour paste with the water and slowly pour in until the gravy is the desired consistency. make sure to whisk well after each addition of paste as the gravy will thicken quickly. Keep warm until you serve.


To prepare the grilled zuchinni:


you'll need:

2 large zuchinni
1 tsp of rosmary
1 tsp garlic
3 tbsp of olive oil.

How to make the grilled zuchinni:

1. slice the Zuchinni on an angle to make thin discs.
2. heat a grill plate or pan and add the garlic and olive oil, once hot you can add the rosmary and zuchinni and grill until the zuchinni is tender and caramalised.


Once everything is done you can plate up and ENJOY! Serve with the apple on the side and a nice chunk of fresh bread to mop up the gravy!!