Tuscan Roast Pork

We are still in the grip of some seriously hot weather here. Yesterday it was 36 degrees! Now, I love the sun but it’s not ‘doing’ weather is it? My poor doggies only get up when they need a drink or to find a different cold spot on the tiles, so I really can’t be bothered with cooking much. The thing is, despite moving to France, I still think of Sunday lunch as a  a special occasion, and more importantly, my family expect it! So this dish is a bit of a compromise, especially if you’ve already peaked on barbecue food too. I first did this dish many years ago and did it spit-roast on the barbecue but this is the lazy version for all you cheaters out there.

This is a Decadent dish. What I mean is that this dish has a fair bit of fat in it. More importantly it’s easy, so if you need to sneak outside with a glass of wine there’s no guilt because dinner is doing itself.

Here’s what you need for 4 people:    

• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 tbsp chopped fresh
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 heaped tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• Piece of pork shoulder about 1kg with the skin removed
• Potatoes for 4 cut roughly in 1 inch chunks
• 2 Onions/Shallots cut in wedges
• 2 apples, cored and wedged

Here’s what I did:

• Mix all the oil and spices together and slather onto the pork.
• Cover loosely with foil and stick it in the oven at Gas 3/4  or 170 degrees for a good 3 hours.
• Add the potatoes and onions and leave for an hour.
• Finally add the apples, making sure to turn everything in the juices.
• Keep the foil off for the last 20 minutes and wack the heat up to Gas 6 or 200.
• Let it rest for 15 minutes before attempting to carve.

Et voilà!  The meat will be falling apart so just slice thickly and pile on the veg in the delicious juices.  Serve this with a mixed salad and enjoy a day off! Great for a posh barbecue or when you fancy a change. I would love to know what you think about this recipe, especially as it is definitely a cheap dinner!

Top tips:

• Don’t ditch the skin, score it, pour loads of table salt on it, wait 30 minutes and wash off. Dry with kitchen towel, and add vegetable oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt and place on a tray. Stick in the oven until crisp (probably the last 2 hours).
• You can use leg or loin cuts but reduce the cooking time and only remove foil at the end.
• Do this on the barbecue spit roast for about 1 and 1/2 hours.
• Add wedged fennel to the pan with the apples.