Aromatic pot roasts are the perfect dish for early autumn, their deep flavours bringing a warm counterpoint to the chilly evenings ahead

Pork and fennel pot roast

You will need a deep, wide pan with a lid for this. The heavier the better. Use chops cut from the neck or rib, with or without the bone. One per person with a couple of potatoes and fennel is plenty. If you want more potatoes you may need to cook them in a separate pan.

Serves 4
a thick slice of butter
4 pork neck chops (about 200g each with the bone)
8 new potatoes
250g fennel
2 bay leaves
100ml dry Marsala

Directions

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Warm the butter in a very large, deep casserole over a moderate heat. Season the chops with salt and pepper and let them colour very lightly in the butter. Remove them and set them aside.

Wipe the potatoes, peeling them only if their skins are thick, and slice into halves or quarters. Add the potatoes to the pan in which you cooked the pork and let them cook over a moderate heat for 10 minutes or until they are lightly toasted on the cut side.

Cut the fennel into thick pieces and add to the pan, tucking it in among the potatoes. Tuck in the bay leaves, add the Marsala and let it bubble for a few minutes, stirring from time to time. Return the pork to the pan, pushing the chops into the pan so that the fennel and potatoes partially cover them. You will find the chops and fennel stand proud of the liquid; no matter.

Cover the pan with a lid and place in the oven for 60-75 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the pork is tender. Check the seasoning and serve with the juices from the pan.

Warm bean salad, tomato herb dressing

A the start of the season I eat runner and French beans fresh from the steamer, with or without a coating of melted butter. As their season moves on I like to use them in more adventurous ways, tossing them with slivers of cheese, adding a few toasted almonds or occasionally serving them with a sauce. This week I used up a load of tomatoes to make a slightly piquant sauce.

Serves 4 as a side dish
400g assorted runner and French beans

For the dressing
3 spring onions
2 tbsp olive oil
275g small, sharpish tomatoes
a small bunch of tarragon
12 basil leaves

Directions

Discard the root of the spring onion and the toughest part of the green shoot, then finely slice the rest. Warm the olive oil and lightly cook the onion until it is tender. It shouldn’t be allowed to colour.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan, stirring and squashing them as you go with a wooden spoon. Pour in 150ml of water then bring the mixture to the boil, add salt and black pepper and the tarragon, roughly chopped, then turn down the heat to a slow simmer. Partially cover with a lid and leave for 20 minutes or so until the sauce thickens. Tear up the basil leaves and stir them in. Take the dressing off the heat.

Cook the beans in boiling, salted water or steam them as you wish, then drain, returning them to the hot, empty pan. Add the dressing to the drained beans and toss gently or spoon it over the beans.
See original here: Nigel Slater’s pork and fennel pot roast recipe

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