Roast leg of pork with shallots

Method

1. Set the oven to gas mark 7 or 220°C. Dry pork well with kitchen paper. Rub a little oil, then salt into the skin, and push thyme sprigs into the meat where you can.
2. Allow cooking time of 25 mins per 500g (1lb), plus 25 mins. Roast the pork as high up in the oven as it will go for the first hour, then turn the oven down to gas mark 5 or 190°C for the rest of the cooking time.
3. Put potatoes in another roasting tin, below the meat, after 40 mins. Add the whole shallots and garlic halves to the meat tin for the last hour of the meat cooking.
4. When pork is cooked, transfer it to a hot platter, and leave in a warm place to rest for 10-15 mins before carving. Carry on cooking the potatoes to brown them, if they need it.
5. Put the shallots and garlic in a warm bowl. Drain off fat from roasting tin, pour juices into a pan, add cider and let it reduce by a third. Thicken with cornflour and add a dash of soy sauce to flavour. Serve pork and sauce with roast potatoes and cooked carrots. (Not suitable for freezing).

Woman's Weekly cooker editor Sue McMahon's tip: Cut a small amount off the root end of each shallot before adding it to the pan, so that they ooze out of their skins, without bursting.Nutritional values are for maximum number of servingsFeature: Kate Moseley. Photos: Simon Pask. Props stylist: Sue Radcliffe