Roasted loin of suckling pig with mustard sauce

Ingredients

For the pork loin
1 boneless loin from a 10-12 week old suckling pig, about 3kg/6lb 8oz, flap removed and trimmed
about 450g/1lb sea salt (150g/5½oz of salt per kg of pork)
bunch of flatleaf parsley, roughly torn
bunch of basil, roughly torn
150g/5½oz wild garlic leaves, roughly torn
50ml/2fl oz olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the vegetable garnish
16 baby carrots, peeled
pinch caster sugar
about 300g/10oz unsalted butter
10 Charlotte potatoes, about 7.5cm/3in each, peeled
½ head of garlic (cut crossways)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
500g/1lb 2oz baby spinach leaves
bunch of flatleaf parsley, coarsely chopped
For the mustard sauce
500ml/18fl oz homemade chicken stock
2 shallots, finely sliced
200ml/7fl oz double cream
25g/1oz coarse wholegrain mustard
30g/1¼oz Dijon mustard

Method

1. For the pork loin, weigh the loin and the amount of salt you need, then spread the salt out on a baking tray. Press the loin skin-side down into the salt. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 12 hours.
2. Carefully rinse off all the salt from the loin with cold water and pat thoroughly dry. Lay the loin, skin-side up, on a board. Using a razor-sharp knife, Stanley knife or scalpel, score the skin carefully all the way along at 5mm/¼in intervals. Turn the loin over and stuff with the parsley, basil and wild garlic, then roll up tightly and tie with string. Place the loin skin-side up on a rack in a roasting tin and return, uncovered, to the fridge.
3. For the vegetable garnish, cook the carrots in boiling salted water with a pinch of sugar for about five minutes or until just tender. Drain, refresh in iced water and drain again. Set aside.
4. To make the mustard sauce, boil the stock with the shallots until reduced by half, then pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan and bring to the boil again. Whisk in the cream and bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and whisk in the two mustards. Cook over a low heat until reduced to a pouring consistency, then remove from the heat. Cover and keep warm, stirring now and again.
5. Return to the vegetable garnish: melt the butter in a wide, shallow, heavy saucepan. Add the potatoes. They should all be immersed in the butter, so add more butter if needed. Add the garlic and salt and freshly ground black pepper, and bring the butter up to a brown foam. Cook the potatoes in the foam for about 25 minutes or until they are a deep golden-brown colour and tender in the middle, shaking the pan gently every few minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and keep the potatoes warm in the butter.
6. Preheat the oven to 220C/430F/Gas 7.
7. For the pork loin, drizzle the pork with the olive oil, then sprinkle with fine salt and rub well into the skin. Transfer the tin to the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes or until the skin starts to firm and blister. Remove from the oven and leave to rest somewhere warm. Leave the oven on.
8. While the meat is resting, reheat the carrots in the olive oil without colouring, then add the spinach and chopped parsley, and toss until hot. Lift the potatoes out of the butter with a slotted spoon and put them in a small, heavy pan. Pour over two tablespoons of the butter they were cooked in and reheat the potatoes in the oven for about two minutes. Gently reheat the mustard sauce without boiling.
9. Remove the string from the pork and carve the meat into equal slices, allowing two per person. Reheat in the oven on a non-stick mat or foil for two minutes.
10. To serve, check the potatoes for seasoning, adding salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then place the potato on the side of the warmed individual serving plates. Put the other vegetables next to them, then place the pork in the middle, resting the slices on the potatoes. Pour over a little of the mustard sauce, and serve the rest on the side.