Roast Pork with Pistachio Stuffing
PREP: 15 MINS + Dry Time | COOK: 2 HRS 40 MIN | SERVES: 6-8
What you’ll need…
1.5kg pork belly, skin on
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt
Pistachio Stuffing
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 golden shallot, finely diced
1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3cm ginger, minced
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
¼ cup Sunbeam Australian Pistachios, toasted, finely chopped
1/3 cup Sunbeam Australian Currants
½ cup Angas Park Cranberries, finely chopped
2 teaspoons lemon zest
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Method
Pat the pork belly dry with a paper towel, then score the rind at 1cm intervals.
To make the Pistachio Stuffing, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the shallot, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes until softened. Then add the remaining ingredients. And cook, stirring, until pistachios are lightly golden. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Then stir in the lemon zest and parsley leaves.
Butterfly the pork belly, leaving one edge intact. Spoon the Pistachio Cranberry Stuffing inside the pork and then roll up. Secure the pork with kitchen twine. Place pork into the fridge overnight (or for 12 hours) to allow the skin to dry up and the pork meat to take on the stuffing flavour.
Preheat the oven to 180℃ fan force.
Place pork onto a wire rack and into a roasting tin. Rub the oil over the pork belly skin and sprinkle over salt. Place into the middle of the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Turn heat down to 160℃ and continue to cook for 2 hours to slowly cook the pork meat. Then, to finish, turn the oven up to the highest grill setting and continue cooking for 2-4 minutes until skin has turned to crackling – you may need to use tongs to rotate the pork a few times to brown all sides evenly.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes, before carving.