Globecooking recipe : Joulukinkku, crumbed roast pork with cranberry gravy (Finland)

This week's Sunday roast had a Scandinavian twist because I recreated a few of the recipes from my Finnish-themed Kitchen Trotter box.

I needed three items from the box : some Finnish crispbread, cranberry chutney and a tube of mild mustard. I accompanied the pork with roast potatoes and veg, as well as a mashed swede dish that I'll will tell you about tomorrow.

Joulukinkku, crumbed roast pork with cranberry gravy

ingredients :

8 crispbread

3tbsp mild mustard

a pork or gammon roast

1tbsp golden syrup

1 egg yolk

1tbsp cornflour

100g cranberry chutney (or cranberry sauce)

30g butter

1 chicken or beef stock cube

20cl water

2tbsp vodka (optional)

Things started off exactly the same as usual. I chopped up some potatoes, carrots, onions and mushrooms and put them in a roasting tin, then laid the pork roast on top and popped it in the oven for a couple of hours. I always add the vegetables under the meat so that they cook in the meat juices. I saw Jamie Oliver doing this in one of his recipes, calling it a trivet and saying to discard the veg before serving - what a waste !

Put the crispbread into a large sandwich bag and crush with a rolling pin.

 The Finnish crispbread are similar to Ryvita but thicker and firmer so they create a coarser crumb - they'd do at a pinch though.

I'm not a fan of mustard but this traditional Finnish one really is very mild. It reminds me of Maille Honey Mustard, which could be used as a replacement.

Put the mustard, golden syrup, egg yolk and cornflour in a bowl and mix.

This should create a thick, smooth sauce.

Once the meat is pretty much cooked (about half an hour before you want to serve), remove it from the oven and spread with the mustard glaze, then coat with the crispbread crumbs.

 Put it back in the oven to go brown.

Time to make the cranberry gravy. Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the stockcube and water. Bring to a gentle boil.

Pour in the cranberry chutney.

Heat and stir until the sauce has thickened.

Serve a slice of the pork with the carrots and potatoes and a generous dollop of mashed swede. Smother the whole lot in cranberry gravy. Zero points for presentation but it tasted lovely!

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