Slow Roast Pork with Celeriac Puree and Beetroot Slaw

This is actually left overs that I took into work for lunch- you jealous?

Ingredients

Pork

- Leg of Pork (get your butcher to score the skin- heaps easier. If he can't, grab a REALLY sharp knife and cut into the fat, not the flesh, at 1-2cm intervals)
- 2 Onions
- Aromatics of your choice (I use fennel seeds and star anise)
- Sea Salt
- Olive Oil
- Water

Slaw
- 1/2 Red Cabbage, shredded
- 1 small Beetroot
- 1 carrot
- White Balsamic
- Olive oil

Puree
- 1 Celeriac, peeled and chopped
- 1 Potato, chopped
- Chicken or vegetable Stock
- Butter

- Dill and Mint (to serve)

This is so easy- but takes a while. 

Start by drying off the leg of pork so it crisps up nice and crackly. I personally use paper towel but a friends mum swears by drying it off with the hairdryer!
Follow your drying ritual by massaging sea salt and olive oil into the skin- helps with the crackling and gives it an amazing flavour.
Slice the onions and place in the base of a roasting pan that just fits the leg of pork in it along with the aromatics and 3-5cm of water. Place dried and oiled pork directly onto the onions and bang it into a preheated oven at 275C for 30min then reduce to 170C for about 30min for every 500g or until internal temperature reaches 65C

While your pork is roasting prep your puree and slaw. Put the celeriac and spud into a small saucepan with the chicken stock, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender.
Grate or Microplane your beetroot and carrot into a large bowl and toss with the shredded cabbage- you'll want glove for this unless you want pink hands for the next day or so. Dress with the balsamic and oil. This salad is so bright it hurts your eyes!
Once your root veges are tender and your stock reduced, add some butter and take to it with your stick blender til it's nice and creamy.

When your pork is nice and done, take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 20 min- probably the hardest thing about this recipe- the smell is irresistable!
If your crackling isn't crackly enough, remove it from the roast and place it under a very hot grill for a few minutes.

When you can't resist it anymore, carve up your roast (against the grain- it keeps more juices in that way) and stack it up, finishing with a generous amount of dill and mint. 

Smacks of spring freshness xox

Almond Crusted Pork Loin on Coleslaw and Quinoa with Mustard Apples

Got inspired by an incredible whole roast pig at an amazing wedding earlier this year and came up with this creation. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

serves 4

4 pork loin chops

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup plain flour

2/3 cup slivered almonds, roughly crushed

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Quinoa

1 1/2 cups white quinoa

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 cup water
1 Tbls unsalted butter

Coleslaw

1 1/2 cup finely sliced white cabbage

1 cup finely sliced red cabbage

1 cup roughly chopped coriander

1 granny smith apple, diced

4 spring onions, finely sliced

juice of 1 lemon

Tblsp sour cream

Mustard Apples

1 jonathon apple

2 Tblsp Dijon mustard

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup coriander, chopped

Start by heating some peanut oil in an oven proof pan. Coat the pork loin with seasoned plain flour, then dip into the egg, then coat in crushed almonds. Place the loins in the pan and fry for around 5 mins on both sides. Pre-heat your oven to 200oC.

While the pork is cooking combine quinoa, stock and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for around 15 min or until tender, adding water as necessary.

Whisk together lemon juice and sour cream. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, coleslaw, coriander, granny smith apple and spring onions and coat with lemon and sour cream dressing, cover and refrigerate.

To finish cooking the pork, place whole pan in the preheated oven for 15 min or until juice runs clear. Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 min. Cooking pork this way keeps it ridiculously moist and tender.

Finely slice the red jonathon apple and coat and coat with mustard and lime juice for a sweet, sour spicy combo. Sprinkle with coriander for an aromatic hit.

To finish, mix butter into cooked quinoa. Spoon into open ended moulds on the plate. top quinoa with a large amount of coleslaw and pack in quite tightly. Place a few apple slices around the plate. Carefully remove the mould from the quinoa and coleslaw. Place a crunchy almond crusted pork loin against the coleslaw. Kick back and enjoy. x