Roast Scotch Fillet of Pork with an Asian Glaze and Brown Pears

Tie the pork with string to hold its shape and place in a shallow dish. Set aside.

Glaze: Roughly chop the garlic and ginger. Place, along with the soy sauce and mirin, in a small food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Add the finely crushed sugar or golden syrup and the vinegar and blend again until smooth. Pour over the pork and leave to marinate for a minimum of 1⁄2 an hour or better still, refrigerate overnight.

When ready to cook, bring the pork to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Score the crackling with a sharp knife (or ask the butcher to do this for you), rub with oil and salt.

Remove the pork from the glaze, transfer it to a roasting pan and cover with the crackling. Reserve the glaze.
Pour 1⁄4 cup of water into the roasting pan.

Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C and continue roasting, adding more water as needed. Do not allow the juices to burn.

Halve and core the pears, rubbing them with lemon juice to prevent discolouration and press a star anise into the center of each half.

After another 40 minutes add the cinnamon stick, cloves, orange zest and juice and pears and continue roasting until the pork is cooked – about another 50 minutes.

The total cooking time should be about 1 hour and 40 minutes. (Allow roughly half an hour per 500 grams).
The juice should run clear when pierced with a skewer, or the internal temperature should register 76°C on a meat thermometer.

Remove the pork from the oven and rest for at least 15 minutes. Remove the crackling and place it under a preheated grill if necessary to finish it off.

Transfer the reserved glaze to a small saucepan, reduce until syrupy and brush over the pork. Slice and serve
with the pears and shards of crackling. Serves 8

Mirin: sweet Japanese rice wine (saké), sometimes just called rice wine. It is used to glaze grilled foods. Sherry can be used as a substitute. Available at most Asian supermarkets