STUFFED PORCHETTA
In Purbeck in Dorset I visited one of the best pork producers in the south of England. There I saw hairy Hungarian mangalitza pigs (which translates as ‘pig with a lot of lard’). This dish combines tasty pork with Cashel Blue cheese. It’s delicious served cold with chutneys and pickles.
Serves 10
l 3kg (6lb 8oz) boned pork middle loin, skin scored
For the stuffing
l 300g (10½oz) Cashel Blue cheese (or other blue cheese), crumbled
l 1 medium onion, grated
l 2 Irish apples, grated
l ½tsp ground cinnamon
l 2tbsp fennel seeds
l 100g (3½oz) sultanas
l 100g (3½oz) walnuts, roughly chopped
l A small bunch of parsley,
chopped
l 50g (1¾oz) breadcrumbs
l 2 eggs, beaten
l Sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
To serve
l Chutneys, pickles and watercress (optional)
Preheat the oven to 240°C/fan 220°C/gas 9. Put the stuffing ingredients in a bowl. Season and mix until well combined. Lay the pork on a board and unroll it skinside down. Use a sharp knife, starting at one side, to slice the meat in half horizontally, working almost all the way to the other side – do not cut all the way through. Then open it out so you have a long rectangle. Spoon the stuffing over the surface and smooth.
Starting from the end with no skin attached, roll the meat up tightly to enclose the filling. Secure with a piece of string at least 5 times the length of the joint. Make a noose in the end, loop it around the pork, then pull the string through the noose and pull tight. Work down the joint, wrapping the string around the underside and back around to meet the string at the top, then feeding the string over and under the string at the top, pulling it taut. Tie it at the end.
Place the pork on a rack in a roasting tray and roast for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 140°C/fan 120°C/gas 1 and roast for 1½ hours. Allow to cool then chill on a plate overnight. When ready to serve, leave the porchetta out for 30 minutes to come to room temperature. Cut off the string. Slice and serve with chutneys and pickles, and watercress, if you like.