Roasted Pork

Serves 8

Ingredients
3 kg pork loin, bone in
sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
5 cloves garlic
8 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
some pork bones, chopped (ask your butcher for this)
4 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 onions, roughly chopped

Method
Using a sharp knife or stanley blade, score the skin of the pork in a criss-cross fashion, If you have a good butcher, you can ask him to do this for you. Rub some sea salt and half the chopped rosemary into the scored skin, pushing as much as you can into the cuts. In a pestle and mortar, pound the fennel seeds, garlic cloves and remaining rosemary into a puree and rub onto the meat. If you rub it on to the skin, it will burn during the cooking. Place the pork loin into a large roasting tray with the balsamic vinegar, bay leaves and olive oil and allow to marinate for at least and hour.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to its highest setting and brown the pork bones. Rub a little more salt into the pork skin to ensure it crisps up in the oven. Lay the pork directly on the oven rack in the top part of the oven. Add the browned bones and vegetables to the balsamic marinade, add 600 ml water to the roasting dish and place the tray in the oven, directly under the pork. As the pork roasts, all the juices will drip down into the roasting dish, which will be used later to make the sauce.

The pork will take about an hour to cook. After about 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 220° C. When the pork is done, remove from the oven and lay on a piece of aluminium foil, to catch all the juices. Allow the meat to rest for at least 15 minutes.

While the pork is resting, finish the sauce. Place the bones, the liquid and the vegetables in a pot. Add a little water to the roasting tray, set over a medium heat on the stove. Scrape all the sticky goodness off the bottom and bring to the boil. Add to the pot with all the other ingredients. Bring this to the boil, skimming off any impurities which may rise to the surface. Pour through a sieve, discarding the bones and vegetables. Pour the sauce back into the pot, boil to reduce slightly and add salt of necessary. Serve the pork, sliced, with the sauce, some roast potatoes and green seasonal veg.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours