Honey Glazed Pork with Roasted Pear & Fennel and Raspberry Cake for Dessert!

Last night I used my favourite cut of meat again - the pork scotch fillet!!

Tonight it was baked with a honey soy marinade and teamed with roasted pear and fennel, pumpkin, and some "smashed" potatoes.  We had a feast fit for a king!!  The piece of pork I used was approximately 1.9kg and cost around $15 - when you consider that we fed 7 people with it last night - it worked out a very economical meal.

Honey Soy Glaze

1/2 cup of honey
3 tbs soy sauce
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 knobs of ginger finely chopped (a knob is approximately the size of the bottom joint on your thumb)

approximately 15 sage leaves (these you add during the last hour of cooking onto the top of the pork)

A really great way to marinade any kind of meat is to place all the marinade ingredients into a large ziploc bag.  This was a tip I picked up on a Jamie Oliver show years ago - and you know it is one of the best tips I have heard.  You can "knead" the marinade into the meat really easily and - the best part is you throw it away when you are finished!

So I let the pork marinade for around 5 hours - but if you are short of time 1 hour will do.  Longer is obviously better.

It was then placed it into an oven that had been preheated to 160 degrees C and it was roasted for 2 hours.  Make sure you baste and turn it frequently - approximately every 30 minutes - this ensures even browning.

Now during this first hour is the time to get all your veggies ready.  Tonight the major accompaniment was to be fennel and pear.  I trimmed the fennel of the bushy green parts (you can use this as garnish if you like) - cut the bottoms and remove the hard outer part.  Then cut each one into 4 pieces.  The pear was quartered, and the core removed.  I coated the pear and fennel in a splash of olive oil then put them onto a baking tray with a small amount of the marinade.

Our other side dish was to be "smashed potatoes" - now this is a great favourite with "the darlings".  I simply boil new potatoes until tender (with the skin on) - drain and then place on a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper - then "smash" them and coat them liberally with garlic olive oil spray.

Tonight pumpkin was added to all the other vegetables to be roasted.

Once the pork has been in the oven for an hour, it is time to add all your other vegetables.

As you are putting all the vegetables into the oven place the sage leaves on top of the pork.

When the pork is cooked to your liking it needs to rest for 15 minutes before you cut it!

During this 15 minutes  - pour a small amount of honey over the pear and fennel just to glaze them and sprinkle your "smashed" potatoes with a small amount of grated parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt.  Bake for a further 15 minutes.

You may like to add some greenery to the meal - we had baby asparagus and peas.

The result....

mmmm doesn't that look good?

They all said YES!!!

But wait, there's more..... we still had room for dessert!!


Raspberry Bundt Cake

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
3 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups caster sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1 tbs vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (not fan forced)

Grease and lightly flour the bundt pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt - set aside.

In a large bowl combine the sugar, oil, cranberry juice, vanilla and eggs.  Beat well until smooth.

On a plate lightly sprinkle the raspberries with a small amount of flour (this prevents them from sinking in the cake!)

With a large metal spoon stir the flour into the sugar and egg mixture.  Gently fold in the raspberries and the almonds.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes - or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

This is a fairly dense cake - it reminded me a lot of steamed puddings that my mum used to made when I was young.

With a scoop of vanilla ice cream the night was finished on a sweet note.

So Dear Readers did you enjoy dinner at our house tonight???  There is nothing better in life than sharing good food with friends is there?