Ingredients

Serves 4

1kg piece free-range boneless pork shoulder or loin with skin attached
Olive oil
Rosemary
Sea salt
1 red onion
1 head Australian garlic
Bones from the pork

 

6 large potatoes – Dutch Cream, Kipfler or Nicolas
4 carrots
2 parsnips
1 piece butternut pumpkin
Olive oil for roasting
Duck fat for roasting (optional)

 

2 tbsp plain flour
300ml cold water
½ cup white wine

Method

Ideally select of piece of pork on the bone and have your butcher bone and roll the pork for you. Have them score the skin for you too. Ask for the bones from the pork cut into manageable pieces. If there aren’t many bones from the piece, ask for a few extra bones or spare ribs. You will need approximately 500g.

Pre-heat the oven to 260ºC.

Peel the onion, leaving the root part on, and cut into quarters. Place in the bottom of a roasting tray with the garlic and pork bones.
Place a roasting rack on top. If you don’t have a roasting rack, a cake rack that fits into your roasting tray will suffice.
Rub the pork liberally all over with olive oil. Chop the rosemary and massage into the pork with a generous amount of salt.
Place the pork on the rack and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 160ºC. Cook for a further 50 minutes.
While the pork is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Peel and wash as appropriate and cut into even sized pieces to ensure even cooking time.
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and add the potatoes. Cook for 20 minutes and drain well.

About 10 minutes before the pork is ready, place a roasting tray large enough to hold all the vegetables in the oven.

When the pork is done, remove it from the oven and wrap loosely in foil. Place in a warm spot to rest.

Add the olive oil (and duck fat if using) to the vegetable tray and allow it to warm up. Add the vegetables and shake the pan to coat evenly in the oil and fat. Place into the oven for 30 minutes, turning once.

Remove the rack from the pork pan. Discard the bones and reserve the garlic and onion if desired. These can be served with the vegetables.
Drain the fat from the pan, making sure not to discard any roasting juices that have accumulated underneath.
Place the pan on a low heat and scrape with a wooden spoon to dislodge any sediment. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the pan and brown gently.
Deglaze with the wine if using and add the water, stirring constantly.
Continue to cook until the mixture has thickened and has a gravy like consistency. If the sauce appears too thick, add a little water, if too thin, allow it to cook longer.
Strain into a saucepan and keep warm.

When the vegetables are done, remove them from the oven, cover with foil and keep them warm.

Return the pork to the oven for 5 - 10 minutes to warm up.

When ready to serve, reheat the sauce gently. Remove the crackling from the pork and break into pieces. Carve the pork into 8 even slices and place on a serving tray surrounded by the vegetables.
Serve the crackling and sauce on the side.

NOTE: As an alternative to the vegetables, pears can be roasted and served alongside the pork with some cavolo nero or other bitter greens.