Pork cooked in milk with potatoes and sage

Ingredients to serve 4

Pork cooked in milk with potatoes and sage by Blanche Vaughan (Simon Wheeler)

2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
1.5kg boneless shoulder of pork
A knob of butter
6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
Small bunch of sage
Small bunch of thyme
750ml full-fat milk
Zest of 1 lemon, peeled in long slivers
Fresh nutmeg
400g potatoes, peeled and left whole
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Slow-cooking pork or chicken in milk is a traditional Italian method that renders the meat wonderfully succulent. The richness of this dish is balanced perfectly by the citrus of the lemon and the distinctive fresh sage. It tastes delicious with the potatoes that have been soaking in the deeply flavoured milk.

Choose a large casserole with a lid, one which will comfortably hold the pork with enough space around it for the potatoes. Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3.

Place the casserole over medium heat and add the oil. Add the pork and brown on all sides. Remove the pork to a plate. Wipe all of the oil from the pan, which will have got too hot and may have burnt.

On a medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic, sage, thyme and cook for a minute or until the garlic is just starting to turn golden brown. Return the pork to the pan and pour over the milk. Add the slivers of lemon zest and a grating of nutmeg. Season generously with salt and pepper. Fit the potatoes around the pork so they are submerged in the milk.

Cover with a piece of baking parchment, then place the lid on top. Roast in the oven for one-and-a-half to 2 hours, or until the pork is very tender and milk reduced to a creamy sauce. At this point you can remove the lemon zest if you like.

Serve hot, straight from the pot, with a green salad.

Taken from 'In One Pot' by Blanche Vaughan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £18.99).