, Step by step

Pulled Pork and Cheese Toastie with Gooseberry Chutney

Make the most of seasonal gooseberries – a simple chutney to complement the pulled pork

Mark Stower, Director of Food and Service

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 4 hours

Serves: 1

Ingredients

Step 1

Pulled pork - place the paprika, brown sugar, salt and pepper into a large bowl, mix together. Now add the pork into the bowl and massage the seasoning into the pork, ensuring you get into all areas.
Step 2

Slice the onions and place into the roasting tray.
Step 3

Place the pork on top of the onions and pour in 200ml of water, cover with tinfoil and place in the oven 150°C for approximately 4 hours, until falling apart.
Step 4

Once cooked, remove the pork from the tray and place on a chopping board. Remove any fatty pieces and shred the pork with two forks. Remove the fat layer from the water in the roasting tray, add back the shredded pork and mix in with the caramelised onions.
Step 5

Gooseberry chutney - to make, pour all of the ingredients into a thick bottomed saucepan and bring to the boil.
Step 6

Once at boiling point, reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for approximately 30 minutes stirring frequently to avoid burning. Once thickened and a nice dark colour the chutney is ready. Allow to cool.
Step 7

To assemble your sandwiches, spoon over a thin layer of the pulled pork on top of one slice of bread, then top this with a sprinkling of grated cheese. Spread the top slice with the chutney and place on top.
Step 8

Bake in the oven on a baking tray at 180°C for 5-6 minutes or alternatively put through a panini grill.

The gooseberry or ‘goosegog’, as it is sometimes called in the UK, is a rather neglected little green, hairy, and sour fruit that has a short season from June to August, depending on the variety. But they are not always green, with different cultivars being orange, purple, red, or even black.
In past times, every back garden might have had one or two gooseberry bushes, as they are easy to grow, but these days they are relatively rarely cultivated or eaten.
Our climate seems to be ideal for the growth of the gooseberry and it grows wild around the UK.
They are recorded as growing here in the thirteenth century, and they were very popular in the nineteenth century. Apparently, 360 varieties were grown in the Horticultural Society’s garden in London in 1831, and ‘gooseberry clubs’ were formed all over the country, with 171 ‘gooseberry shows’ listed in 1845!
The old English name for this fruit is ‘feaberry’, apparently still used in some parts of England, and its acidity was employed medicinally to cool fevers.
Gooseberries are rich in vitamin C, but most of this will be lost in prolonged cooking. Because of its acidity, the gooseberry requires lots of sugar in pies and crumbles but it’s also a great accompaniment for savoury dishes such as in Mark’s chutney.

Dr Juliet Gray, Nutritionist