Ingredients

(Serves 4)

Porchetta

1 & 1/2 kg boned pork belly

1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh sage, finely chopped

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tsp baking soda

S&P

Fennel Salsa Verde

1 small fennel bulb, finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely choped

1/2 cup fresh mint, finely chopped

3 Tbsp capers, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

S&P

Prep It

Finely chop the 1/4 cup of rosemary and sage. Mince 3 cloves of garlic and combine in a small bowl with chopped herbs and 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Set aside for later.

Pat pork dry and score skin in a diamond pattern. You want to score just through the skin, stopping before you hit the flesh. This will help the fat to render out and not cutting into the flesh will keep the porchetta moist. (Don’t stress if you fail you can see above I didn’t nail this)

Lay the porchetta skin side down on a flat surface with the long end facing you. Spread the herb garlic mixture evenly over the flesh and rub in well. Season with salt and pepper and roll into a tight log starting with the long side in front of you. Set aside seam side down while you ready your string.

Cut 4 pieces of string about 30cm long. Don’t be afraid to cut too long here, the worst is if you cut them all to short. We are tying them all separately here, I’m not about to explain some crazy sailing meat tying knot. Lay the pieces of string on the bench with a bit of space in between each one an place your pork on top seam side down.

Starting with the outer pieces of string and working your way in, tie up tightly. Place on a tray, cover and get her in the fridge to marinate. Mine was about 4 hours but overnight is good.

Cook It

Preheat oven to 160°C.

Remove pork from fridge. Combine baking soda and salt in a small bowl and sprinkle over porchetta insuring you get it on the sides too. Place a wire cooling rack in a tray with sides and place porchetta on top. Cover the ends of the porchetta with tin foil to keep it moist during cooking. Roast in oven for 2-2 & 1/2 hours, or until a small knife inserted has little resistance. Every half hour remove porchetta from oven and use a dessert spoon to scoop up some of the drippings and drizzle it over the skin. This helps to crisp the skin.

When cooked turn heat up to 250°C and cook for a further 10-15 minutes to crisp skin. Watch carefully while crisping to ensure it doesn’t burn.

When the skin is crispy, remove from oven and rest for about 20 minutes before slicing with a very sharp knife or a serrated knife. Season slices with flakey sea salt.

Meanwhile,

Make your fennel salsa verde. Finely dice fennel. Now fennel are scary but think of it as dicing an onion. Remove the stalks and cut it in half so a bit of the root stays on the end. Now finely dice it. Finely chop 1/2 a cup of parsley and mint. Finely chop 3 Tbsp of capers and mince 1 clove of garlic. Combine them in a bowl with 3 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 1/2 Tbsp of red wine vinegar. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep in the fridge in an air tight container or set aside at room temp if your using it soon.

Eat It!