ROASTED PORK LOIN WITH GUAVA by celebrity chef Errieda du Toit

ROASTED PORK LOIN WITH GUAVA by celebrity chef Errieda du Toit

6 servings

1 x 7 rib bone-in pork loin (ask the butcher to saw the bone through between the ribs – only at the back part. Also ask the butcher to score the fat).

salt and pepper

10 ml fennel seeds or 5 ml Chinese 5-spice

Salt and pepper

1 small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves stripped and chopped

200 g butter

10 guavas, cut in quarters (can also use 2 cans of tinned guavas in syrup)

vegetables of choice (like sweet potato, parsnip or carrots)

Port, verjuice or vinegar

• Preheat oven to 200 °C.
• With a sharp knife score the skin, 1 cm apart, through the fat almost to the flesh.
• Cut the meat loose from the ribs to form a pocket – do not cut right through. Season the meat very well with salt, pepper and fennel or with Chinese 5-spice. Season inside the pocket as well with salt and pepper.
• Make herb butter with the butter, thyme and season with salt and pepper.
• Rub half the butter into the gap between the ribs and the meat. Squeeze as many of the guavas as you into the cavity – stack the rest of the butter on top.
• Tie up in three or four places with kitchen twine to hold the filling and the meat in place.
• Place in oven pan with remaining guavas and the vegetables of choice. Bake 50 – 60 minutes until cooked. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before serving.
• Make gravy from the pan sauces – adding a little port, verjuice, or vinegar.