Pig paradise

As the most intelligent and sociable of farm creatures, pigs thrive on company, space and the chance to follow their natural instinct to root. A friend of my eldest daughter has three house pigs who all sit like dogs for mints! So it comes as even more of a shock when you realise that pigs are the most intensively farmed of all our domestic animals. And the sad irony is that cheap pork produced in such a way has lost all its flavour and become bland and flabby. As a result many of us have stopped eating pork altogether unless it’s in the form of highly cured bacon.

So if there is any one product that it really pays, both for flavour and welfare, to seek out locally then it has to be pork. What’s more, there is a wonderful historic link to eating pork from this area. Pigs have played their part in the formation of the Wealden countryside for centuries. The woods of the High Weald with their poor soil were ideal for the autumn fattening of the one or two pigs that each smallholder kept. And the dens that the smallholders built to provide shelter as they tended their animals have given us the root of many of our local names – Tenterden, Biddenden, Horsmonden (and even my own village, Cowden)!

Luckily we have some excellent local producers raising traditional (some now classified as rare) British pig breeds in conditions that the pig keepers of old would recognise but with the best of modern farming methods to aid them. Lucy Hollands and Damian Van Aswegen of the Rare Breed

Pig Company are two of this new breed of young farmers, who should inspire and reassure those of us who hope and believe that British farming can move successfully into the 21st century. Visiting them and their pigs in four acres of ancient woodland outside Groombridge for the first time on a sunny day back in the spring, I thought I had found pig paradise. Gloucester Old Spot, Oxford Sandy and Black, Berkshire and Tamworth – even the breed names seem to come straight from Beatrix Potter. Lucy and Damian, both aged 26, started up with four Old Spot piglets a year ago and now have around 50 pigs. The piglets arrive as eight-week old weaners from Oaklands in Rotherfield (although the aim is to start breeding their own themselves as soon as possible) and are kept in sociable groups of 10 in pens through the woodland. They have mud to wallow in to keep cool in the summer, shade to snooze under, and on top of what they forage for, are fed a mixed diet of GM-free pig food and local vegetables such as asparagus and apples.

Damian says, ‘The real difference with these pigs is that they are slow-growing breeds that thrive in a woodland environment. The secret to great pork is in the breed and the husbandry. We take time to get our pigs used to human company, so when they go to the abattoir at around seven months, the short 20-minute journey is as stress free as possible.’ A local butcher deals with the carcasses to Damian and Lucy’s specification so the whole cycle takes place within a few miles. It is Lucy who is the passionate cook of the two. She is constantly searching out recipes and trying the finest pork products from the UK and around the world. Her aim is to produce local salamis and hams on top of the joints and sausages they currently supply to local farm shops, pubs and farmers’ markets. As she says, good husbandry is using the entire pig so that nothing goes to waste. With Lucy’s help, I’ve come up with three recipes that show off the wonderful flavour of their pork. And as Damian promised, the difference between the RBPC pork and intensively reared meat is like chalk and cheese. Try it and see.

Mary Gwynn is a highly respected food writer. Now based in Kent, she is currently writing recipe cards for Waitrose, working with Stack House Cookery School near Sevenoaks as a teacher, and running bespoke cookery courses for students from her own kitchen.

Pork tenderloin with mushroom, cider and cream

Pork tenderloin is as tender and flavoursome as its name implies. It’s ideal sliced and simply pan-fried and works well with the traditional companion ingredients for pork – mushrooms, sage and cream

Serves 2. Preparation: 10 minutes.
Cooking: 15 minutes

15g dried porcini
1 tbsp vegetable oil
large knob of butter
2 shallots, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
300g The Rare Breed Pig Company pork tenderloin, sliced thinly
150g chestnut mushrooms or wild mushroom mix, sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
100ml dry white wine or dry cider
100ml double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.Pour boiling water over the dried mushrooms and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Chop the mushrooms.

2. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan. Add the shallots and cook for a couple of minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Push the onion to the side of the pan and turn up the heat. Add the pork and brown quickly on both sides. Stir in all the mushrooms, sage and seasoning and cook for 3-4 minutes.

3. Add the wine or cider and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few more minutes until the pork is cooked through and the liquid reduced by half. Stir in the cream and bring to the boil, stirring all the time Check seasoning and serve with boiled rice.

Roast pork with apple mint sauce

It’s when you try a classic roast pork joint that the difference in flavour and texture of the RBPC’s pork more than comes into its own. The aroma of the meat cooking will tell you that this is something special; served with my take on apple sauce, there is nothing better for a special family Sunday lunch

Serves 8. Preparation: 15 minutes.
Cooking: 3¼ hours

2 – 3 kg The Rare Breed Pig Company joint of pork (I cooked shoulder for our shoot but you could use leg or loin)
coarse sea salt
2 tbsp plain flour
large splash white wine
600 – 800 ml vegetable cooking water or vegetable stock
1 tsp English mustard
freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce
2 medium cooking apples (Bramley or I use James Grieve from my garden), peeled, cored and sliced
2 – 3 tbsp sugar to taste
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1. Remove the pork joint from the fridge an hour in advance to let the meat come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 220C gas 7. Pat the skin of the pork dry with kitchen paper then rub well with salt. Place in a roasting tin, skin side up.

2. Roast for 30 minutes then turn down the oven to 170C gas 3 and cook for 25 minutes per 500g until the meat juices run clear when the joint is pierced with a skewer. While the meat is cooking, make the apple sauce. Place the apple slices in a small pan with the sugar and cook gently until the apples break down. Stir in the mint and add more sugar to taste.

3. Remove the meat from the oven, place on a warm dish and cover loosely with foil. Leave to rest for at least 15 minutes. While the meat is resting make the gravy. Pour off most of the fat from the tin and place back on the hob. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Whisk in the wine then gradually add the water. Bring back to the boil stirring, simmer for a couple of minutes then stir in the mustard and season to taste. Serve with the sliced pork and apple mint sauce.

Honey and mustard glazed sausage, red onion and potato roast

Perfect for a family supper, this is a really simple dish that makes the most of the wonderful coarse meaty texture and intense flavour of The RBTC’s sausages. Serve with a salad or seasonal vegetables such as runner beans or shredded Savoy cabbage

Serves 4. Preparation: 15 minutes.
Cooking: 45 minutes

1 pack The Rare Breed Pig Company herb sausages
2 medium red onions, cut into chunks
500g small to medium sized potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
2 tbsp local honey
1 tbsp grainy mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200C Gas 7. Twist the sausages in the middle then cut into two smaller sausages. Place the sausages, onions and potatoes in a roasting tin. Mix together the honey, mustard, oil and seasoning and pour over the ingredients in the tin. Mix well.

2. Roast for 40-45 minutes, turning occasionally until the sausages are cooked through and the potatoes are crisp and golden. Serve with runner beans or broccoli.

For information on the Rare Breed Pig Company and details of where to buy their products visit www.therarebreedpigcompany.co.uk or call 01892 770322. Order online for delivery on a Thursday, or buy at the Groombridge and Spotted Dog farm shops and Penshurst farmers’ market. They also supply local pubs and restaurants including The Spotted Dog and Bottle House pubs at Penshurst.