SLOW-COOKED PORK SHOULDER WITH POT-ROASTED QUINCES

SERVES 6–8 In this dish, the pork and quinces are cooked separately so the flavours and colours remain distinct. 1.2–1.6kg free-range pork shoulder, bone in

6 fresh bay leaves 2–3 tablespoons sea salt flakes 2–3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 400ml dry sherry, such as Chambers Dry Flor Apera 1 brown onion, peeled, coarsely chopped ½ cup raisins 2 oranges, juiced 4–6 garlic cloves, peeled, coarsely chopped extra 1 orange, rind finely grated, halved 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, to serve crusty bread, to serve POT-ROASTED QUINCES 4 large quinces 2 oranges 1 cinnamon stick 2 whole star anise 1 sprig fresh bay leaves 6 tablespoons honey 4 tablespoons balsamic glaze

Preheat oven to 140°C. Remove rind and excess fat from pork shoulder. Place pork shoulder in a large, deep metal roasting pan. Tear bay leaves into small pieces and place in a large mortar. Add salt and pound with a pestle until bay leaves begin to break up and salt looks green. Add olive oil and mix until a runny paste forms. Using your hands, massage bay leaf mixture into pork, working it into surface of meat. Cover and set aside for 1 hour to bring to room temperature. Place roasting pan containing pork over a medium-high heat. Cook, turning occasionally, for 5–7 minutes or until pork is well browned all over and lots of nice flavour has built up on base of pan. (Take care pan juices do not burn.) Transfer pork to a plate. Reduce heat to medium. Add sherry to roasting pan and cook, scraping pan with a flat-edged wooden spoon to dislodge any brownings from base. Add onion and raisins and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is soft and translucent. Add orange juice to pan. Remove from heat. Return pork to roasting pan, along with any resting juices and garlic. Ensure cooking liquid is 3–4cm deep (top up with water, if necessary). Cover pan with baking paper, then cover very tightly with foil so steam cannot escape. Roast, basting with pan juices occasionally, for 7–8 hours or until pork shoulder is starting to fall apart and feels very soft. Spoon pan juices over pork to moisten. Cover with foil and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to rest. Meanwhile, to make pot-roasted quinces, wash quinces to remove fluff. Cut quinces in half lengthways. (Do not peel or core quinces.) Place quince halves, cut sides up, in a 5cm-deep baking dish. Using a vegetable peeler, remove skin from oranges in long strips. Using a small sharp knife, remove white pith from rind. Juice oranges. Add orange rind, orange juice, cinnamon, star anise and bay leaves to baking dish. Drizzle quinces with honey and balsamic glaze. Cover tightly with baking paper, then foil. Place in oven with pork and roast for 2 hours or until soft and beginning to colour (don’t let them stew). Remove foil and baking paper. Using tongs, turn quinces to ensure they are well coated in pan juices. Roast quinces, cut-sides up, for a further 2 hours or until quinces are caramelised, and pan juices are thick and jammy. Place pork on a serving platter. Strain pan juices through a fine sieve set over a jug, pushing down on solids with back of a spoon to extract flavours. Allow pan juices to settle, then skim excess oil from surface. Return juices to roasting pan and simmer over a medium heat for 10–15 minutes or until reduced by one-third. Squeeze in juice from half of extra orange and stir to combine. Season to taste. Pour pan juices around pork and arrange quinces around pork. Squeeze juice of remaining orange half over pork, and top with chopped parsley and grated orange rind. Serve with crusty bread to mop up delicious juices.