It’s hard to pass up this classic Italian pork roast with its masses of gorgeous crunchy crackling and tender, moist meat. Use any leftovers to make a fantastic sandwich.
INGREDIENTS
1½ - 2 kilogram piece pork belly, skin scored at 1 cm wide intervals (we use Freedom Farms)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 quarters preserved lemon
¼ cup sage leaves
2 tablespoons rosemary leaves
3 cloves garlic
½-1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
kitchen string
METHOD
Preheat the oven to its highest temperature.
Place the pork belly skin side down on the bench and season with salt and pepper.
Scrape the flesh from the preserved lemon pieces and discard.
Place the lemon skin on a chopping board with the sage, rosemary, garlic and chilli flakes and use a large sharp knife to chop everything together to create a rough paste. Stir in the olive oil then spread the mixture evenly over the flesh side of the pork. Roll up tightly and secure with kitchen string.
Rub the skin with a little olive oil then season generously with salt.
Place the pork on a rack set over a baking dish and pour in enough water to come 1 cm up the side of the dish. Don’t pour the water over the pork.
Roast for 25 minutes to get the crackling started then reduce the oven temperature to 180˚C. Roast the pork for 1 hour until very tender when pierced with a skewer, adding more water to the pan if it dries out.
If the crackling has not crisped enough, place under a preheated grill for a few minutes but watch it carefully as it can catch and burn quickly.
To serve: Rest the pork for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with the relish
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latest issue:
126
We start by sharing what’s on the dish team’s radar, what we’re watching, listening to and reading. Harry Butterfield puts a twist on his Nonna’s agnolotti, Malissa Fedele reminds us of the importance of fibre, and Phoebe Holden fulfils a long-held dream, sitting down with Yotam Ottolenghi. Autumn is an abundant time, we make the most with pumpkin, kūmara, cabbage, cauliflower, feijoas, apples and pears. We’re dishing up dinners for two, including a Chicken Dumpling Lasagne, alongside easy weeknight meals. We honour our mums, revisit timeless classics, and add a little baking challenge. This issue, we encourage you to slow down, to enjoy writing your shopping list, and spending time in the kitchen. Because even when life feels relentless, there’s always space to share something delicious.