loin joint of pork, on the bone
unsalted butter
garlic
one pint of whole milk
bay leaves, sage
one kilo of new potatoes
thyme
Take the rind off the meat, trying to leave a layer of fat on the joint and on the rind. Score the rind at close intervals, without cutting all the way through the fat; rub both sides with crunchy salt, lay it rind-side uppermost in an ovenproof dish, and put it in the oven as it heats to gas mark 5.
Chop the potatoes into bite-size pieces, and put in a lidded ovenproof dish with several sprigs of thyme. Pour over a couple of glugs of olive oil, scatter with crunchy salt and cracked black pepper, put the lid on and shake till all the potato pieces are coated with oil. Put in the oven, next to the crackling-to-be.
Heat more olive oil in either a cast-iron casserole dish or else a roasting dish just big enough to take the pork. Rub the meat on all sides with crunchy salt and pepper, then brown all sides in the oil. Take it out of the dish, drain the oil off and add an unhealthy lump of unsalted butter. Toss in half a dozen cloves of garlic, and brown lightly; then return the meat to the dish, and pour over the pint of milk. While this heats, add a couple of bay leaves and a couple of sprigs of sage. When the milk is boiling, put the dish in the oven next to the crackling-to-be; move the potatoes down to a lower shelf, and reduce the heat to gas mark 2.
Baste the meat with the milk every half hour. After a couple of hours, remove it. Put the potatoes back up to the top shelf, and knock the heat up to gas mark 7 if necessary to finish off the crackling; it should be golden-brown and entirely crunchy. Put the meat on a warm plate, cover with tin foil and leave to rest for twenty minutes. The milk will have separated into curds and whey; take out the herbs, leave the garlic in the liquid and blend to a smooth sauce. Taste and correct the seasoning.
Meanwhile, thinly slice a savoy cabbage. Blanch in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain. Return the cabbage to the pan, add a glass of white wine or rosé and a generous chunk of unsalted butter. Boil, cover and cook for ten or fifteen minutes; once the cabbage is tender, take off the lid and evaporate the wine. Stir in toasted flaked almonds.
To serve the meat, run a sharp knife between flesh and bone and the flesh will lift away with ease. Thick slices are good. Distribute the crackling fairly, or there will be strife.