Recipe Image
Servings:
6
Porchetta with Blue Cheese and Fennel Slaw
The epitome of slow-roasted recipes, porchetta is a popular Italian dish consisting of pork belly flavored with herbs and cooked low and slow until it yields up tender meat and crispy crackling. Using minimal ingredients, the star here is the pork and so it’s essential to use the best cut and quality you can afford.
Total Time
4hr
0.0
0 Ratings
Author: East After Noon
Servings:
6
Ingredients
•
6.6
lb
Pork Belly
•
3
sprigs
Fresh Thyme
•
3
sprigs
Fresh Rosemary
, finely chopped
•
3
sprigs
Fresh Sage
, finely chopped
•
2 1/2
Tbsp
Fennel Seeds
•
1
Large
Lemon
, zested, juiced
•
6
cloves
Garlic
, finely chopped
•
2 2/3
Tbsp
Olive Oil
•
1
head
Butter Lettuce
•
1
Fennel Bulb
•
as needed
Blue Cheese
•
as needed
Ciabatta Bread
•
to taste
Coarse Sea Salt
•
to taste
Coarse Black Pepper
Cooking Instructions
1.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.
Lay the
Pork Belly (6.6 lb)
flat, skin-side down. Sprinkle with lots of
Coarse Sea Salt (to taste)
and
Coarse Black Pepper (to taste)
and rub the seasoning into the meat.
3.
In a bowl, combine
Fresh Thyme (3 sprigs)
,
Fresh Rosemary (3 sprigs)
,
Fresh Sage (3 sprigs)
,
Lemon Zest (1)
, Lemon Juice,
Garlic (6 cloves)
, and
Olive Oil (2 2/3 Tbsp)
.
4.
Cut 10 lengths of string/kitchen twine, each about 30 cm long. Sprinkle the herbs,
Fennel Seeds (2 1/2 Tbsp)
and garlic, over the pork. Carefully roll up from one of the long ends, then tie very tightly with string in the middle of the roll.
5.
Tie at either end, about 1 cm in, then keep tying at intervals along with the roll until all the lengths of string have been used up. If any filling escapes, push it back in.
6.
Roast in the hot oven for 15 minutes with the seam facing upwards.
7.
Turn the pork and cook for the further 15 minutes with the seam facing down.
8.
Reduce the oven’s temperature to 265 degrees F (130 degrees C) and cover the pork with foil. Optionally pour a little white wine to steam the meat as it cooks.
9.
Roast the pork for a further 3 hours before removing it from the oven.
10.
For extra crispy skin, give the porchetta a quick blast under the grill, turning once. Rest the pork for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
11.
For the slaw, use a sharp knife to slice the
Butter Lettuce (1 head)
into ribbons and thinly cut the
Fennel Bulb (1)
. Retain some of the fennel tops to use in the slaw. Combine the lettuce and fennel in a bowl and drizzle over some olive oil.
12.
To assemble a porchetta sandwich, halve
Ciabatta Bread (as needed)
and top with some slaw followed by a slice or two of porchetta. Crumble a little
Blue Cheese (as needed)
over the top and close the roll. Serve with a few glasses of wine if desired.
Author's Notes
Yields 6-8 servings.
Using ready-prepared pork belly means no fiddling with string. Simply rub the marinade into the meat and a little extra olive oil before roasting.
Using ready-prepared pork belly means no fiddling with string. Simply rub the marinade into the meat and a little extra olive oil before roasting.
Nutrition Per Serving
CALORIES
2676
FAT
271.6 g
PROTEIN
48.6 g
CARBS
6.7 g
