Hampshire rib of pork

To roast the pork, ensure the joint has a minimum of 12mm of fat to create the ultimate crackling. Place the joint on a wire rack and put in the kitchen sink. Boil a kettle of water and gently pour over to open up the scoring. Dry the rind thoroughly with kitchen paper. Place the joint on a wire rack over a baking tray, sprinkle with half the table salt and leave for 15 minutes at room temperature to draw out any remaining moisture.

Pre-heat the oven to 240°C/475°F/gas mark 9. Dry the rind again with kitchen paper. Brush sparingly with a little olive oil then sprinkle again with the remaining table salt. Place the tray into the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes until the crackling has started to pop and turn a golden brown. Turn the oven down to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3 for the remainder of the roasting time; about another 30-40 minutes. Check the core temperature of the pork has reached 70°C with your meat thermometer. Allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes before carving the joint between the bones.

To make the gravy, pre-heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Put half the vegetables and all of the bones, evenly mixed, in two roasting trays and coat with a little vegetable oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until caramelised. Transfer everything to a saucepan, add the thyme, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, peppercorns and fennel seeds, and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 4 hours, reducing by two-thirds, skimming every half an hour to remove any impurities and fat on top of the stock.

In a separate saucepan bring the butter to a foam and lightly colour the pork trimmings and other half of the vegetables. Once everything is evenly caramelised, add the bacon lardons and cider, and simmer to reduce by half. Strain the first batch of stock into the saucepan with the reduced cider and continue to reduce by two-thirds. Finally thicken to the desired consistency using the cornflour and water mixture whilst stiring, cook out the sauce for 2 minutes. Season with fine salt to taste before straining through a fine sieve.

To make the apple ketchup, place the apple into a saucepan with the cider vinegar, sugar, vanilla pod and seeds and the butter. Cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally to break down the apple to a purée, this should take around 10-12 minutes. Pass through a sieve or blend with a stick blender to achieve a smooth apple ketchup.

To make ultimate mash, place the potatoes in a pan of water with a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. Whilst the potatoes are cooking heat up the cream and butter with a pinch of salt and pepper. When the butter has melted, stir in and remove from the heat. When the potato is cooked pass through a ricer into a bowl. Mix the butter and cream mixture through and again season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, place the pork in the centre of the table for a roast dinner, and serve with ultimate mash, apple ketchup and some seasonal vegetables.