Roast pork shoulder with ajo blanco

SERVES 6-8 // PREP TIME 1 HR 20 MINS // COOK 4-4½ HRS (PLUS BRINING, RESTING)

“My dad is a fan of the slow roast so we always have one at Christmas” says Jacqui Challinor. “Plus it isn’t Christmas without crackling.” Roast potatoes are the perfect accessory. Start this recipe a day ahead to make the ajo blanco and allow at least six hours to prepare the pork.

375 gm sea salt

1 tbsp black peppercorns, toasted

1 tbsp fennel seeds, toasted 1 head of garlic, halved 1 bunch of parsley stalks

(reserved from spice rub) 4 fresh bay leaves

1 bunch of thyme

1 boneless pork shoulder (about 3.75kg), skin on, scored

250 gm flat pancetta, thinly sliced

AJO BLANCO

25 gm crustless sourdough bread

90 gm blanched almonds 1 garlic clove, crushed 1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 3 tsp sherry vinegar

SPICE RUB

1 tbsp celery seeds

1 tbsp fennel seeds

4 black peppercorns

6 garlic cloves

½ cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves ½ cup (loosely packed) sage 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

1 Stir salt in 3.75 litres water in a large saucepan over high heat until it dissolves (15-20 minutes). Remove from heat, add spices, garlic, parsley, bay and thyme, cool and refrigerate until chilled. Transfer to a large non-reactive container, submerge pork in brine and refrigerate to brine

(at least 2-3 hours or overnight).

2 For ajo blanco, soak bread in 125ml water (2-3 minutes), then squeeze out excess. Process almonds in a food processor until finely ground, add bread, garlic and oil and blend to a paste. With motor running, slowly add 250ml cold water and process until smooth. Add vinegar, season, strain and chill. This is best made a day ahead.

3 For spice rub, dry-roast spices until fragrant (30 seconds; see cook’s notes p190). Crush with a mortar and pestle, add garlic and herbs, crush to a paste, and stir in olive oil and lemon rind.

4 Preheat oven to 180°C. Rinse pork under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Roll pork as you would to truss, then trim off excess meat so it wraps neatly – you want a little excess skin at the end to wrap around so crackling wraps the cooked pork. Place shoulder skin-side down on a board and rub spice mix into flesh. Lay pancetta over pork, overlapping, to cover meat. Roll into a cylinder, tie at intervals with kitchen string, place on a rack in a roasting pan and roast until internal temperature reaches 68°C-70°C (3-3½ hours).

5 Increase oven to 225°C and roast until skin crackles (15-20 minutes). Remove from oven, rest for 30 minutes, then carve and serve with ajo blanco.

Cider suggestion Tasmanian heritage apple cider.