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Rolled porchetta with pistachios, fennel and lemon

Porchetta makes a wonderful alternative to Turkey for your festive centrepiece.
Total Time3 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Keyword: French Christmas Recipe, Christmas dinner, What French people eat at Christmas, Porchetta
Servings: 6 People

Ingredients

  • 2 kg pork belly boneless
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 1 lemon zested
  • 50 g pistachios finely chopped
  • 10 g sage finely chopped
  • 15 g parsley finely chopped
  • 50 g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp Maldon salt

Instructions

  • Begin by prepping your pork. Score the skin of the pork belly with a knife in lines at an angle across the whole skin, then place in the fridge uncovered overnight – this will help dry out the moisture in the skin and ensure you have super crispy crackling.
  • Meanwhile you can make the stuffing for the porchetta. In the olive oil lightly fry the onion with a pinch of Maldon salt for 5 minutes until softened.
  • Then add the crushed garlic and fennel seeds and fry for another 2 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and tip into a bowl to cool.
  • Once cooled add the lemon zest, chopped pistachios, sage, parsley, breadcrumbs and season with Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Mix well and set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 200C.
  • Once you are ready to cook your pork remove from the fridge.
  • Place it on a board skin side down, and then cover the flesh with your stuffing mixture.
  • Using butchers string carefully roll your meat and bind together in 3 or 4 places tightly to keep it in a roll.
  • Place the rolled joint onto a baking tray and drizzle the skin with olive oil, rubbing it in and then sprinkle liberally with Maldon salt.
  • Place the tray into your preheated oven for 30 minutes until the crackling is crispy and golden.
  • Then turn your oven down to 180C and cook for a further 2 hours. If the crackling begins to look a little too dark, then you might want to cover it with some foil.
  • After the cooking time remove your porchetta from the oven and rest for 20 minutes until ready to serve!