A roast dinner celebrating one of the best cuts of meat and a few highlights of the winter crop. It is simple, unassuming, and delicious.
When it comes to pork and joints for roasting, most of us tend to go for belly, loin, or shoulder, all of which makes for a sumptuous roast dinner. But, often overlooked, is the ribeye — sometimes referred to as the collar or neck fillet, which, in this form, has everything you want from a roasting joint. There is rind to crackle, a covering of fat, dark marbled meat that is interwoven with fat and tissue. The latter point is important, as it makes it a forgiving piece of meat to roast.
Deliciousness abound and even more so paired with a gratin of those most unique root vegetables: turnips and swede. The uniqueness I refer to here relates to their flavour — they both come with a slight tang and a warmth, which is actually quite hard to describe in words. If you know, you know.
Serves: 4-5
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the gratin
For the Cabbage and Apples
Method
For the Pork
- Remove the ribeye from the fridge, season well with sea salt, and leave to come up to room temperature, about 3 hours before you plan to cook it.
- Preheat your oven to 220°C.
- Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the joint and rub over.
- Lay the sage, garlic, and onions on the bottom of an oven tray, season with a little salt and then place the ribeye on top. Put the tray in the oven and cook for 18 minutes, then reduce the heat to 150°C and cook for a further 20-25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Once rested, remove the ribeye from the pan and transfer to a board. Set the roasting tray over a high heat and add the white wine. Bring to a boil, and then add the stock and the Dijon mustard. Bring this to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Pass through a sieve and taste for seasoning. Adjust as necessary. This is your gravy.
For the Gratin
- Put the cream, thyme, white wine, garlic, several grinds of black pepper, and a good pinch of salt into a pan and bring to a very gentle simmer. Remove from the heat after 5 minutes and then leave to sit for a further 10 minutes.
- Thinly slice all the swede, turnip, and potatoes on a Japanese mandolin. Season with a little sea salt and leave to sit in a colander for 15 minutes.
- Pass the cream through a sieve and pour into a large bowl. Squeeze out any excess liquid from the turnips, swede and potato and then add to the bowl. Stir everything together and taste for seasoning, adjusting as necessary.
- Layer the potatoes, turnips and swede into an ovenproof dish, then grate over the Comte.
- Bake in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.
For the Apples and Cabbage
- Take the savoy cabbage and remove any old or damaged outer leaves, and trim up the root. Then cut in half and then each half into 4-5 wedges. Wash well with cold water.
- Set a frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter. As it melts, add the apples and sauté in the foaming butter until golden and caramelised.
- Remove the apples from the pan and add the cabbage wedges, plus a splash of water, season well with sea salt and a little black pepper and turn the heat up. Cover with a lid and cook for 6-8 minutes on a high heat, stirring regularly. You want the cabbage to take on a bit of colour, even char a touch in places. Add a splash more water if needed at any point.
- Once the cabbage is cooked, reintroduce the apples, stir together and check for seasoning, adjusting as necessary.
