I love a good terrine, pâté, and of course rillettes. So it’s not surprising that I was drawn to Delia Smith’s potted pork recipe in her book Happy Christmas. I didn’t want to wait until the holidays to make it, and I didn’t.

What’s extra special is that the potted pork is served with what Ms. Smith calls a marmalade – a lightly cooked and spiced combination of apples, raisins, and shallots. It is delicious.

From the author: “It’s good to bring some forgotten traditional English recipes – like potted meats and terrines – into Christmas. If they’re tucked away in the fridge, there’s always something special to have for those “other” mealtimes.”

For a more festive look, use dried cranberries instead of raisins. The Kissabel Rouge apples I used are beautiful! (Thank you Whole Foods.)

Potted Pork with Juniper & Thyme with a Marmalade of Apples, Raisins & Shallots
Printable recipe below

14 ounces minced pork
2 ounces smoked streaky bacon, chopped small (I used finely diced pancetta)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 heaped teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
8 juniper berries
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 1/2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the garnish:
Some sprigs of thyme
A few juniper berries

Marmalade:
12 ounces apples, unpeeled (I used Kissabel Rouge apples)
8 ounces shallots, peeled and halved if large
2 ounces raisins
1/8 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 nutmeg, freshly grated
9 ounces strong dry cider
1 ounce cider vinegar
1 ounce dark muscovado sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the meats, garlic, mace and thyme in a mixing bowl. Using a pestle and mortar, crush the juniper berries and peppercorns – not too finely. Add these, along with the brandy and salt, then give everything a really thorough mixing.

Now pack the mixture into a 20 ounce pudding basin or heatproof bowl, press the thyme sprigs and juniper berries onto the surface, then cover with a double sheet of foil, twisting it to make a kind of lid. ( used a pie pan, which was most likely a mistake.)

Place it on a baking tray then into the oven to cook slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Then remove it from the oven, place some weights on top to firm it up and leave to get quite cold before transferring to the fridge. (It shrunk a lot.)

Serve cut into wedges, straight from the bowl.

To prepare the apples, core and cut them into quarters, then slice each quarter into three. Place them, along with all the other ingredients, in a medium-sized saucepan, bring everything up to a gentle simmer and just leave it to cook very gently for 50-60 minutes, until the liquid has reduced and the mixture looks sticky and glossy. If you want to make this in advance, to serve just it it through gently – it doesn’t need to be hot, just warm.

The marmalade was delicious! Next time I’ll use a deeper baking dish, as specified in the recipe. Pudding Basin. Now I know.