Roasted balsamic pork (main course)

This is a delicious and healthy recipe, especially with the lean pork loin joints you get in France. It's very tasty and you just can't help going back for more! The balsamic vinegar works it's magic by softening the meat, whilst reducing slowly infusing into the leeks and pork and producing a rich gravy at the end of roasting.

150ml Balsamic vinegar (the better the vinegar the richer the taste)
1-1.5kg. pork loin, boned, rolled and tied
2 dessert spoonfuls of soft brown sugar
3 ends of leeks (green leaves only)
2 stock cubes (one chicken, one beef)
500ml hot water
1 tablespoon of cornflour (make into a runny paste with a few tablespoons of water)

Cut the ends of the leeks where they start to green. You only want to use the green ends, so the rest can be saved for another day and used in a soup or as braised leeks in white wine. Make sure you wash the leaves well otherwise your gravy will be gritty!
Line the base of a large casserole dish (preferably a heavy creuset or similar) with the leeks then place the pork joint on top of the leek leaves. Slowly pour 100ml of the balsamic vinegar over the pork and then sprinkle one of the tablespoons of sugar over the top of the pork. Put the lid on the casserole dish and place in the oven at 160º for two hours. Keep checking and basting the pork every 1/2 hr and make sure it doesn't dry out.
Remove the lid, re-baste and add the remaining balsamic vinegar and sugar as before. Put the casserole dish back in the oven with the lid off and turn the heat up to 200º for another hour. This will then glaze and colour the top of the pork. After about 3/4 hr take the dish out of the oven and transfer the joint onto a carving dish with the leeks arranged underneath or around it. Re-baste the joint, turn the oven off and put it back in. Meanwhile make a gravy up with the remaining juice in the bottom of the pan. Add the stock cubes and water to the pan and then add cornflour paste to thicken. Keep stirring until it reaches a gravy consistency.
Slice the pork thinly and deliver to the table with the leeks as accompaniments. Serves 6-8.

Tartiflette (main course)

Our favourite of the local dishes here in the Haute Savoie and very filling. Superb on snowy winter days.

1.2 kg potatoes
200 g lardons (diced bacon)
300ml milk
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 whole reblochon cheese (you can use brie if you can't get hold of reblechon)


Peel and boil the potatoes. An arduous task but I've found that if my kids are sitting in front of the TV and I drop the bowl of potatoes in their laps, 9/10 times they will peel them for me!
After boiling them on about 4 for 10 minutes (they must still be quite hard, don't let them go squishy), drain them off and and cut them into slices. While the potatoes are boiling, finely chop the onion and garlic add to a frying pan which has a dash of olive oil in it and sweat until soft, then the lardons and fry gently until the potatoes are ready.
Add half of the sliced potatoes to the frying pan and pour over half of the milk. Let this all simmer for a few minutes while you cut the reblechon cheese (or brie) into long thin slices.
Cover the bottom of a gratin dish with about half of the remaining slices of potatoes, then add on top half of the frying pan mixture. Lay half of the reblechon on top then repeat the process by adding the remaining potatoes and frying pan mixture. Top off with the remaining reblechon slices. Put the dish in a warmed oven at 200º for an hour or until the reblochon is melted and golden. Serves 6-8.