Waitrose and Partners
Porchetta-style pork with smashed potatoes & gremolata

Porchetta-style pork with smashed potatoes & gremolata

We’ve simplified this Italian classic and paired it with a citrussy gremolata to cut through the richness of the pork. The super-crisp smashed potatoes take the treasured roast spuds to another level.

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Gluten free
  • Serves8
  • CourseMain meal
  • Prepare40 mins
  • Cook3 hrs
  • Total time3 hrs 40 mins
  • Pluschilling + resting

Ingredients

  • kg No.1 British Free Range Pork Belly Joint
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds, toasted and roughly crushed
  • 1 tbsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 10 clove/s garlic, 8 crushed, 2 finely chopped
  • ½ x 20g pack rosemary, leaves finely chopped
  • 1 orange, scrubbed, zest, plus a little juice
  • 3 unwaxed lemons, zest of all, plus a little juice, then cut into wedges to serve
  • kg Waitrose British Regal White Potatoes, scrubbed
  • 2 fennel bulbs, cut into 1/4 or 1/8 wedges if large, fronds reserved
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 25g pack flat leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped, stalks finely chopped

Method

  1. To butterfly the pork, slice through it horizontally until you get about halfway, then open it out like a book. Season the meat with salt, then sprinkle over the crushed fennel seeds, black pepper, chilli flakes, crushed garlic, rosemary, orange zest, the zest from 2 lemons, and a small squeeze of both orange and lemon juice.

  2. Roll up the meat from the longest side until you have a spiral of seasoned pork, with the skin on the outside. On a work surface, arrange 3-4 lengths of kitchen string, spaced at 2cm intervals, then put the joint on top and tie each piece of string tightly around it to secure. Use a small sharp knife to prick the skin all over; season. Set a wire rack over a baking tray and put the pork on it. Loosely cover with foil and chill for at least 2 hours (ideally overnight); this helps to produce great crackling.

  3. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 150ºC, gas mark 2. Lift the pork (and rack) off the tray and put the whole potatoes and fennel wedges in a single layer in the base. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil, season and put the pork (still on the rack) back on top. Roast for 2 hours 10 minutes-2 hours 20 minutes until cooked through with no pink meat remaining and a meat thermometer inserted into the centre of the joint reaches 70ºC.

  4. Remove the roasting tray from the oven and increase the temperature to 240°C, gas mark 9. Lift the pork (and rack) from the tray and flatten the potatoes roughly with a potato masher; drizzle with the remaining 3 tbsp oil; season. Put the pork (and rack) back on top and roast for another 20-30 minutes, turning the joint every 10 minutes, until all the crackling is puffed and crisp. A meat thermometer inserted into the centre of the joint should reach 75ºC.

  5. Transfer the pork to a warm platter to rest. Reduce the oven temperature to 220ºC, gas mark 7. Carefully flip the potatoes and roast for 10 minutes more until golden and crisp. Meanwhile, make the gremolata by mixing the chopped parsley and garlic with the remaining lemon zest and reserved fennel fronds; season. Slice the pork and serve with the potatoes and fennel. Sprinkle over the gremolata and serve with lemon wedges.

Nutritional

Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe

Energy

2,953kJ/ 708kcals

Fat

42g

Saturated Fat

12.9g

Carbohydrates

24g

Sugars

2.1g

Fibre

4.5g

Protein

46g

Salt

0.4g

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