“Nothing can beat the sweetness of meat from a suckling pig (a baby piglet). The tender flesh needs very little in the way of seasoning - just some pepper and sea salt, which not only adds flavour but also ensures that you end up with a fantastically crisp crackling. Apple is of course the accepted - and frankly the finest - accompaniment to pork, and the delicate flavour and slight crunchiness of baby vegetables cut through the richness of the meat beautifully. The quantities here will serve eight generously.”

• 1 x 6 kg suckling pig, head off
  Vegetable oil
  Salt and freshly ground white pepper
  
  Garnish
  32 each of baby carrots, baby leeks
  and small asparagus spears
  24 baby fennel bulbs
  32 baby new potatoes, peeled
  100g unsalted butter
• 50g small marjoram leaves
  Jus Rôti
  24 sprigs of chervil
  
  Apple Sauce
  6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
  50g unsalted butter Juice of 2 lemon
  Pinch of caster sugar

Ask your butcher to bone the pig and roll it so that it looks like a whole loin with skin all the way round. Also ask him to tie the roll and then score the skin lightly.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Brush the joint with a little vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in a roasting tin and roast for 12 hours, turning every 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, blanch the carrots, leeks, asparagus and fennel, in seperate pans of boiling salted water to retain the individual flavours, until al dante (to the bite), then drain and refresh in iced water. Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender; drain. Set all the vegetables aside.

To make the apple sauce, sweat the apple dice in the butter with the lemon juice and sugar until the apples have broken down into a purée. Keep warm.

When the meat is cooked, take it out of the oven and remove the crackling. Return the crackling to the oven, at a higher temperature, to crisp up. Allow the meat to rest, covered to keep warm.

To reheat the baby vegetables and potatoes, warm them gently in an emulsion made from melting the butter with a little water. Season with a little salt as required.

Put the majoram into the jus rôti and warm gently.

To serve, use my carving knife to cut the meat into 1 cm slices and place an equal number of slices on each warmed plate. Arrange the drained baby vegetables and potatoes neatly over the meat with some crackling on top. Pour the majoram sauce over the meat and the vegetables and garnish with sprigs of chervil. Serve the warm apple sauce on the side.