Baked pork, almond and marsala stuffing with bread sauce topping

Method

1. Put the milk, cloves, mace, bay leaves, onion and cream in a pan, heat gently until steaming, then set aside to cool and infuse.
2. For the stuffing, melt 50g of the butter in a large frying pan, add the 2 finely chopped shallots and the thyme, season with salt and fry gently for 8-10 minutes until the shallots are softened but not coloured. Remove to a mixing bowl to cool. Add the rest of the butter to the pan with the quartered shallots, season with salt and pepper, then fry over a medium heat for 10-12 minutes until softened and lightly golden. Pour in the marsala/madeira and reduce until syrupy. Remove to a separate bowl.
3. Once the finely chopped shallots have cooled, add the sausagemeat and ground almonds and mix with your hands until well combined. Roll into walnut-size balls (about 18) and set aside. Put the cleaned frying pan back on a high heat with a drizzle of oil, then fry the stuffing balls until golden all over. Remove to a 1.5 litre gratin dish, then scatter over the sticky quartered shallots.
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4. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas 6. For the topping, dip the bread chunks into the infused milk for about 3 seconds – just long enough to soak through but not fall apart. Scatter the bread over the meatballs in the dish, along with extra bay leaves. Dot with butter, then bake for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden on top and the meat is cooked through. Serve immediately.