Rolled Porchetta With Pistachios, Fennel & Lemon
Porchetta makes a wonderful alternative to turkey for your festive centrepiece.
Porchetta originates from Italy and is a rolled joint of pork belly stuffed full of fragrant herbs. It is slow cooked for soft, tender meat, but still with beautiful crispy crackling on the outside. Serve this Porchetta alongside rosemary roast potatoes and fresh sautéed greens.
Preparation Time: 20min, plus chilling overnight
Cooking Time: 2 hrs 30min
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 2kg pork belly, boneless
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 lemon, zested
- 50g pistachios, finely chopped
- 10g sage, finely chopped
- 15g parsley, finely chopped
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1tbsp Maldon salt
To Make:
- Score the skin of the pork belly with a knife in lines at an angle across the whole skin, then place in the fridge uncovered overnight – this will help dry out the skin and ensure you have super crispy crackling.
- Make the stuffing. In the olive oil lightly fry the onion with a pinch of Maldon salt for 5min until softened. Add the crushed garlic and fennel seeds and fry for another 2min. Remove from the heat and tip into a bowl to cool. Once cooled add the lemon zest, chopped pistachios, sage, parsley, breadcrumbs and season with Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Mix well and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Remove pork from the fridge. Place it on a board skin side down, and then cover the flesh with your stuffing mixture.
- Using butchers’ string carefully roll your meat and bind together in 3 or 4 places tightly to keep it in a roll.
- Place the rolled joint onto a baking tray and drizzle the skin with olive oil, rubbing it in, then sprinkle liberally with Maldon salt. Roast for 30min until the crackling is crispy and golden. Then turn your oven down to 180ºC and cook for a further 2hrs. If the crackling begins to look too dark, cover with foil.
- Remove your porchetta from the oven and rest for 20min before serving.
