Pork with parsnips and fennel

Waitrose Kitchen magazine, October 2010.

Ingredients

• 3 parsnips, peeled, cored, cut in wedges
  
• 1 med-large bulb fennel, thinly sliced
  
• 12 shallots, peeled and halved
  
• 2 pork neck steaks
• 200ml low-alcohol cider
• few sprigs thyme
  

Method

Place the vegetables in a roasting pan with the cider, and roast at 220C for 5 mins.
Place the pork on top, season, and roast for a further 30 mins at 200C.
To serve, place the meat on the veg and pour over the juices. Serve with steamed vegetables (we did savoy cabbage) or salad.

Comments

The roasted parsnips were a little dry. Next time I would spray with oil before roasting, or baste in the cider. The shallots were lovely and sweet, though.
The pork was tender but needed a bit of oomph. I was thinking of mixing some wholegrain mustard with a little cider and maybe even marinading them for a few hours. Maybe honey too, but the cider is pretty sweet. I don't know why they specified low-alcohol cider; perhaps I would try another one next time.
Apple wedges could go nicely in the vegetable mix as well.