Pork Fillet and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Honey Baked Apples

, from Issue #19. September, 2015
Photography by Nick Tresidder.
Pork Fillet and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Honey Baked Apples

Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

600 grams free-range pork fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Apples
4 Braeburn apples, skin on, cut into wedges
knob of butter
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon chopped thyme

Salad
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
2 red onions, peeled and quartered through the root
3 carrots, peeled and cut on diagonal
8 whole cloves garlic, skin on
2 handfuls of baby spinach

Dressing
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Pork: Trim the pork of any silverskin and tie with kitchen string, tucking the thin end under for even cooking. Combine the olive oil, garlic, rosemary and lemon zest in a bowl and season. Rub over the pork and set aside until ready to cook.

Apples: Melt the butter in an ovenproof sauté pan. Add the apples and lemon juice and cook until they just begin to colour. Stir in the honey, salt and thyme. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until just tender and caramelised.

Salad: Combine the parsnips, red onions, carrots and the garlic in a roasting dish. Toss with a little olive oil and season. Roast for 40 minutes or until tender, turning occasionally. Leave until just warm.

Dressing: Whisk the ingredients in a bowl and season. Add the spinach to the roasted vegetables and toss with the dressing.

To finish: Heat a little olive oil in a sauté pan and brown the pork on all sides. Roast for 12 minutes or until just cooked. Cover loosely and rest for 10 minutes.

To serve: Slice the pork on the diagonal and toss with the roasted vegetables. Serve with the roasted apples.