Anise Scented Rack of Pork with Cider & Quince Gravy

Ingredients

• 4-rib loin rack of pork, French trimmed
• 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
• 5 star anise, bashed in a mortar and pestle
• 2 tsp sea salt
• Black pepper to taste
• ½ fennel bulb, sliced
• Orange juice to taste

For the gravy

• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 200ml cider
• 500ml hot chicken stock
• 1 tbsp quince jelly

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7. Rub the pork with the oil, followed by the star anise and sea salt. Season with black pepper.
2. Arrange the sliced fennel on the bottom of a roasting dish. Weigh the pork and allow 25 minutes cooking time per 450g. Place the pork on top of the fennel.
3. Roast for 30 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4 and roast for a further hour. Squeeze the orange juice over the pork, leave the orange in the roasting tray and continue cooking until the juices run clear when you pierce the meat with a knife, or until the internal temperature measures 70°C on a meat thermometer, if you have one.
4. Remove the pork from the oven and place on a board. Loosely cover with foil and set aside to rest.
5. Meanwhile make the gravy. Remove the orange and discard. Tip away all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the roasting tray. Move the fennel to one side of the tray and put on the hob over a medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and stir, scraping up all the meaty bits stuck to the bottom. 
6. Remove from the heat and slowly mix in the cider. Return to the heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the stock, reduce the heat and simmer the gravy for about 10-12 minutes. 
7. Stir in the quince jelly and any meat juices from the resting pork. Strain the gravy and pour into a warmed jug for the table.
8. Slice the pork into four ribs. Pour over the gravy and serve with lots of seasonal vegetables.