VEGETARIAN SUNDAY ROAST LONDON RECIPES

Cook time: 12-14 hours.

Preheat the oven to full whack (240C/475F/gas 9). Toss the reserved pork skin in a little oil and sea salt (you can either slice it into long, thin strips or leave as one piece), lay it flat on a tray and roast until perfectly golden and crisp, keeping a close eye on it, then remove. Peel the onions, then cut into wedges with the apples. Trim and roughly chop the celery and break the garlic bulb into cloves. Scatter it all in your largest roasting tray with the sage and bay leaves, pour in the cider and add a good splash of water.

Bash the fennel seeds, cloves, dried chillies and . heaped teaspoon of salt to a fine dust in a pestle and mortar, then massage all over the pork with a drizzle of oil. Sit the pork in the tray, cover tightly with a double layer of tin foil, place in the oven and turn the temperature down to 130C/250F/gas ½ Roast for 10 to 12 hours, or until the meat pulls easily away from the bone, then remove from the oven and cover with a couple of clean tea towels to keep warm.

Turn the oven up to 200C/400F/gas 6. Peel the potatoes, then cut lengthways into wedges along with the fennel. Parboil in a couple of pans of boiling salted water – the potatoes for 7 minutes and the fennel for 6 – then drain, leave to steam dry completely, and place in a large, high-sided roasting tray (25cm x 35cm). Peel the garlic and blitz until fine with the anchovies, rosemary leaves and a good splash of boiling water in a blender. Finely grate in half the nutmeg and most of the Parmesan and pour in the cream. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, blitz again, then pour over the veg. Grate over the remaining Parmesan and bake at the bottom of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Serve everything in the middle of the table with a whole load of simply steamed seasonal greens. You’ll get a natural brothy gravy underneath the pork – reduce it on the hob before serving, if desired.

Tip: Freshen this up with a zingy salsa. Chop 2 eating apples into fine matchsticks and toss in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar and 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Pick, roll up and finely slice the leaves from ½ a bunch of fresh mint and toss into the bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Simple.

902 calories. 

Heat the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Place the potatoes, red pepper and tomato in a large, flameproof oven dish or tin and season with the salt and pepper. Put the leg of lamb on top and pour over the lemon juice and olive oil, then add the garlic halves to the dish. Sprinkle all over with the oregano. Pour the water into the dish and cover with foil, sealing the edges well to retain the moisture as it cooks. (A large enamelled, lidded, cast-iron pot, such as Le Creuset, would also be suitable to cook this in.)

Cook in the oven for 2½–2¾ hours until the meat is falling off the bone, adding a little more water, if necessary, halfway through to keep the vegetables moist. Remove the foil (or lid) and add the feta, then return to the oven for 10 more minutes. After this time, check the consistency of the juices. If the dish seems a little dry, add a little more water. If too dilute, transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving dish and reduce down the liquid on the hob.

Serve the meat in chunks or thick slices with the vegetables and juices.