Slow-roasted shoulder of pork with cazuela-baked vegetables
For the Pork
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2.2-2.5kg free-range pork shoulder, trimmed to even thickness and skin scored
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt
- 1⁄2 cup medium-dry sherry
- 3 tablespoons clear fruit jelly or apple syrup
For the Cazuela-baked vegetables
- 3 medium floury potatoes (such as Agria), peeled and chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons thyme leaves
- 3 kumara, peeled and chopped
- 500g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1⁄2 cup skinless hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3⁄4 cup vegetable stock
Pork belly is a favourite, but shoulder has similar qualities, is meatier and very tasty. And you can roast it in the same way and get fantastic crackling. A cazuela is a Spanish terracotta baking dish, but you can use any earthenware baking dish. Cut all the vegetables to the same size, around 4cm x 4cm.
Method
For the Pork
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Pound the fennel seeds, garlic and olive oil to a paste in a mortar. Rub the pork flesh with the paste and place flesh down in a roasting dish. Dry the skin well and rub in the salt, massaging well into the scoring lines. Place in the oven for 30 minutes then lower the temperature to 150°C and roast a further 3 hours until tender.
Remove the pork from the dish to a serving platter or board (carefully as it will be very tender so will fall apart easily). Leave to rest uncovered.
If the crackling isn't crisp enough, remove it from the pork and place under the grill for 2-3 minutes (watching carefully) until crisp.
Pour off any excess fat, but not juices (the fat will pour off the top), from the roasting dish. Place the roasting dish over a medium heat and deglaze with the sherry. Stir, scraping the tasty bits off the bottom of the dish. Bring to the boil then stir in the jelly or syrup and mix well. Pour into a serving jug.
To serve, remove the crackling from the pork (if you haven't already) and cut into long pieces with a heavy knife. Carve the meat and serve with the crackling, sherry sauce and baked vegetables (recipe follows).
Serves 6.
For the Cazuela-baked vegetables
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and boil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Drain and leave in a colander to dry thoroughly.
Heat the oil in a cazuela (or in a large frying pan if you will be using a non-stovetop-resistant casserole) over a medium heat and sauté the onions, bay leaves and thyme for 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes to coat with the oil then remove from the heat.
Add the kumara and pumpkin (or place in a casserole and add the potato and onion mixture) along with the hazelnuts. Mix together and season with salt and pepper then pour in the stock. Roast for 11⁄2 hours in the oven with the pork.
When the pork is removed, turn on the grill and grill the top of the vegetables (watching carefully) for 5 minutes to brown.
Serves 6.
