[ess_post]
Prep time: 30 minutes
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes plus resting time
If you’re going to cook roast pork for Sunday, then this is it. A beautiful piece of free-range pork wrapped around a stuffing filled with Spanish flavours like chorizo, parsley, garlic, and manchego cheese, with crackling to die for. Oh, and don’t forget the super crispy duck fat potatoes to go with it. Simply sublime.
Ingredients
1 x 2 – 2½ kilogram piece of free-range pork belly
250 grams pork mince
100 grams chorizo, finely chopped
¼ cup Spanish olives (pitted)
90 grams manchego cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ red onion, finely diced
small handful Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1½ kilograms roasting potatoes (e.g. Agria), peeled and quartered
100ml duck fat or good extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
Recipe
Stuffing: Place the pork mince, chorizo, olives, cheese, garlic, onion and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Add a good glug of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined, then set aside.
Pork: Score the skin of the pork at 1cm intervals, 1-2 cm deep. You can ask your butcher to do this, or a clean, sharp Stanley knife is ideal for the job. Flip the pork over and season the flesh with salt and pepper. Shape your pork stuffing mixture into a large sausage and place in the centre of the pork, making sure it runs the length of the meat. Carefully wrap the pork around the stuffing until it meets in the middle and forms a cylinder. Turn over and place seam side down. Tie at intervals with kitchen string and rub generously with flaky sea salt. (At this point you can place the pork in the fridge overnight. This will help dry out the skin, which makes for super crispy crackling.)
Preheat oven to 210°C.
Potatoes: Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to barely cover them. Add salt and bring to the boil. As soon as the water reaches a full rolling boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 2 minutes, then drain. Rough them up a little by tossing them in a colander. Sprinkle over the flour so the potatoes are evenly coated. Place a roasting dish in the oven. Once hot, put your choice of fat in the dish and heat in the oven for a few minutes. Carefully place the potatoes in the hot fat and place the dish in the oven at the same time as the pork. Toss the potatoes occasionally so they crisp up on all sides.
To cook: Rub the pork skin with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Place on a roasting rack over a roasting dish and roast for 35-40 minutes at 210°C.
Reduce the oven to 160°C and remove the potatoes and rest covered. Continue to cook the pork for a further 1½ hours. Remove, cover and rest for 30 minutes before carving.
Increase the oven to 200°C.
Return the potatoes to the oven and finish roasting for 20-30 minutes while the pork rests. Toss occasionally until super golden and crispy on all sides.
Serve hot alongside the rested and carved pork.
